Ezra Frech - Athlete

Ezra Frech was born with congenital limb differences, missing his left knee and left shin bone, and with only one finger on his left hand. Now 19 years-old, Ezra has used a prosthetic leg since he was 11 months and a running blade since he was 4 years old. Ezra had surgeries when he was 2 years old to transplant a toe to his hand and allow for improved fitting of prosthesis. 

Growing up, Ezra played pretty much every sport he could find. Ezra holds dozens of junior national track and field records and was the starting QB and point guard for his football and club basketball teams. In the fall of 2014, Ezra was honored to be named as a finalist for the 2014 Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year.   

In 2016 Ezra, as an 11 year-old, was watching his friends and mentors compete on the world’s stage at the Rio Paralympic Games, Ezra told his mother, “I want to go to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games” and he immediately started training. 

Fast forward to June 2019 when Ezra made the US Paralympic Track and Field Team as a 14 year-old and competed in three international events, including the Junior World Para-Athletics Championships, where he won three medals, the Para-Pan American Games where he won two silver medals, and the World Para-Athletics Championships, where he placed in the top 8 in all three of his events and was the youngest athlete out of 1,400 competitors. 

With the Tokyo Paralympics delayed until 2021, Ezra continued to train in 2020 through the pandemic, resorting to park, beach, and back-yard workouts for months on end. Finally getting back on the track in January 2021 at his school, Brentwood, Ezra began a regimented training program, all the while being a full-time 10th grader. 

Through the spring of 2021, Ezra competed against able-bodied athletes for his high school track team, ultimately earning a 2nd place in CIF Finals. More importantly, he performed well at U.S. Paralympic Track and Field Trials, where he become the T63 National Champion in the 100M and Long Jump, set an Americas record in the long jump, and punched his ticket to Tokyo in the high jump by hitting the A Standard of 1.8 meters. 

In the summer of 2021, Ezra competed in the T63 Long Jump (making the finals and earning 8th place) and the T63 High Jump (placing 5th) at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. 

In 2022, Ezra competed for his high school team, but ultimately missed National Championships due to an achilles injury. 

In May of 2023, Ezra won two national championships (Long Jump and High Jump) and came in 2nd in the 100M at the 2023 U.S. Paralympic T&F National Championships. 

In July of 2023, Ezra won a world championship and broke the world record twice in the High Jump. He also came in 4th in Long Jump and 6th in the 100M at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris. 

In March of 2024, Ezra won three national championships (Long Jump, High Jump, and 100M) at the 2024 U.S. Paralympic T&F National Championships. 

In May 2024, Ezra placed 2nd in High Jump and 4th in Long Jump at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan. 

In July 2024, Ezra will compete in Trials to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.