Evergreen grad Yen Hoang places eighth in 800 meters at Tokyo Paralympics

Former Vancouver resident Yen Hoang recorded a personal best and reached the finals of the 800 meters at the Paralympic Games on Sunday in Tokyo.

Though Hoang placed eighth out of eight competitors in the finals, the 2015 graduate of Evergreen High School had her best race in the preliminary heat of the T53 division.

Hoang finished in a personal best of 1 minute, 51.49 seconds, placing third and earning one of three berths to the finals. She finished the finals in 1:52.40. She will also compete in the 400 meters and 100 meters in Tokyo.

Hoang has used a wheelchair since age 4 due to a neurological condition, cauda equina syndrome, that affects the spine.

As a student at Cascade Middle School, Huang first got into sports through wheelchair basketball. But she began to focus on track and field during her freshman year at Evergreen.

Her senior season, Hoang set the state meet record in the 1,600 meters, a mark that still stands. She also qualified for the 2015 Parapan American Games, racing in four events.

Hoang earned a scholarship to the University of Illinois, where she earned a degree in Business/Accounting in 2019. That same year, she also won gold in the 800 meters and silver in the 400 meters at the Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru.