Sep. 2—PARIS — South Dakota’s Miles Krajewski teamed up with partner Jayci Simon to claim the United States’ first para badminton medal at a Paralympic games on Monday in Paris.
The pair claimed silver on Monday, Sept. 2, dropping a 21-14, 21-12 decision to China’s Naili Lin and Fengmei Li in the gold-medal match at Porte de La Chapelle Arena. Krajewski graduated from Yankton High School earlier this year and will attend the University of South Dakota this fall as a business student.
Their silver-medal run included defeating the world No. 2 Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sivan of India twice — once in group stage play and later in the semifinals. Both Krajewski and Simon are both 19 years old, playing in their first Paralympics. Simon hails from St. Johns, Michigan. Krajewski and Simon played in the SH6 division, which is for athletes who have achondroplasia and short stature.
“Nobody expected to come in and get a silver medal,” Krajewski told Team USA.com. “But deep down, we knew that we had a chance to win it all. So, we came out here, we played our best, and we ended up in the finals.”
The medal is the first and best finish by an American pair at a Paralympic Games, and the best finish by a team from the Pan-American region (North, South and Central America.)
“I think this will really help us in the future,” Krajewski said. “Gaining all this experience and knowledge while playing in front of such a big crowd, along with such experienced players, I think this will help us in the long run.”
Krajewski reached the quarterfinals in singles play in Paris, falling in three games to Brazil’s Vitor Tavares. Ironically, Tavares is Krajewski’s regular men’s doubles partner in other para badminton events, where they have attained a No. 1 world ranking.
Krajewski has been playing badminton since he was 10 years old and competed in his first international tournament that same year. He barely missed representing Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, short just one spot.
Krajewski has previously won two gold medals at the Parapan American Games Santiago 2023 and two bronze medals at the 2024 world championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
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Publish date : 2024-09-02 08:45:00
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