Inaugural wheelchair 100 college championship set for Drake

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The first men’s and women’s wheelchair college national championships in track will be contested at the Drake Relays, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and NCAA announced Thursday.

The wheelchair 100 meters will be open to athletes who have top-three finishes or top-eight times in qualifiers at Illinois and Arizona. They’ll compete April 26-29 at the Relays, with the wheelchair 100 finals to be televised on CBS Sports Network.

A USOCP spokeswoman said additional track events could be added to the Drake Relays program in the future following an evaluation of this year’s 100-meter competition.

The USOPC/NCAA Para-College Inclusion Project led the effort to include the wheelchair 100 at the Relays. The partnership seeks to increase Paralympic sports exposure at the college level and encourage participation among young people who are prospective wheelchair athletes.

Paralympic athletes have competed at Drake since 2015, but this will be the first college-specific event in wheelchair racing.

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