Nathan Riech

Nathan "Nate" Riech (born 5 February 1995) is a Canadian Paralympic athlete who competes in middle-distance running events in international level events. He has a dual citizenship with Canada and the United States.[1]

Nathan Riech
Personal information
Nickname(s)Dogg, GrayWolf
Born (1995-02-05) 5 February 1995
Fresno, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Sport
Country Canada
SportParalympic athletics
Disability classT38
Event(s)1500 metres
ClubVic City Elite
Coached byHeather Hennigar
Mike Van Tighem
Medal record
Paralympic athletics
Representing  Canada
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 1500m T38
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2019 Dubai1500m T38
Gold medal – first place2023 Paris1500m T38
Parapan American Games
Gold medal – first place2019 Lima1500m T38

Personal life

Riech was born in a sporting family: his father Todd Riech competed for United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics in the men's javelin throw, his mother Ardin Tucker was a Canadian pole vaulter who competed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. His grandfather, Jim Harrison, played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. Riech's cousin Georganne Moline competed in the 400 metre hurdles in the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics while his stepmother Brittany Borman also competed in the same Olympics in the women's javelin throw.[2][3]

Riech's disability occurred after a freak accident aged ten while he was playing golf with friends, a golf ball hit Riech in the back of the head which caused him to have a brain injury which affected the right side of his body.[4]

Sporting career

Riech began running at ten years old in Chandler, Arizona. He went on to run NCAA track at Furman University and University of South Alabama.[5] He began competing internationally in 2018 in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Berlin where he broke the 800 metres and 1500 metres T38 world records, one year later, he broke then 1500 metre world record again. He won his first medal in the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima.[6][7]

References
  1. "Nathan Riech - Canadian Paralympic Committee". Canadian Paralympic Committee. 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021.
  2. "Nate Riech - International Paralympic Committee". International Paralympic Committee. 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022.
  3. "Island runners Riech, Stanley on their mark for Paralympic battle in Tokyo". Times Colonist. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019.
  4. Ewing, Lori (6 July 2018). "Canada has new Paralympic middle-distance running star in Nate Riech". National Post.
  5. "Canada's Nate Riech earns 1500M gold in his Paralympic debut". CTVNews.ca. 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-09-14. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  6. "Canada's Riech wins gold, Stewart silver at final day of para athletic worlds". cbc.ca. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020.
  7. "Athlete of the Month - July 2019". Canadian Sport Institute. 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020.
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