Mt. Airy’s Romanchuk makes history in NYC

Daniel Romanchuk, who grew up in Mount Airy, became the first American to win the men’s wheelchair division of the New York City Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 1 hour, 36 minutes, 21 seconds. Romanchuk, 20, finished the 26.2-mile race 01.15 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, a three-time NewYork champion, including in 201617. Romanchuk, a 20-year old who was homeschooled in Maryland before enrolling at Parkland Community College, in Champaign, Ill., won the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 7. He placed third in London in April. Born with spina bifida, a birth defect that prevents a developing baby’s spinal cord from forming properly, Romanchuk has been paralyzed from the waist down and using a wheelchair since age 3. Romanchuk has been participating in programs at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, a Disabled Sports USA chapter in Baltimore, since he was 2. Romanchuk is part of the University of Illinois wheelchair racing team, which includes Atholton alumna Tatyana McFadden, who has 17 Paralympic medals and five New York City Marathon titles to her name. She finished second Sunday, behind Switzerland’s Manuela Schar. Schar, who also won the Berlin and Chicago marathons, finished in 1:50:27; McFadden’s time was 1:50:48.