KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City native, who holds the title of "fastest blind man in the world," will try to defend his title Tuesday at the 2020 Toyko Paralympics.
David Brown was born with Kawasaki disease, a condition that caused him to develop glaucoma.
When he was three years old, he lost his left eye. At six years old, he started losing vision in his right eye. That's when he started running.
"I was at the trolley run that they do there in Kansas City," Brown said. "I was like, okay, you know, I got some speed on me, I got some wheels."
At age 11, Brown and his family moved to St. Louis so he could attend the Missouri School for the Blind. He joined the track team and started to get serious about running.
"Things started changing from there after that," he said.
In 2008, he won an essay contest for emerging athletes. The prize was a trip to the Beijing Paralympics, where he found inspiration to one day reach that level himself.
Just four years later, he did.
In 2012, he raced in three events at the London Paralympics but failed to medal.
His breakout moment came two years later.
At a meet in California, he broke not one but two world records. He ran the 200-meter race in 22.41. In the 100-meter race, he crossed the finish line in 10.92 seconds - becoming the first blind sprinter to break 11 seconds and earning the title of "fastest blind man in the world."
"A lot of people have gold medals," he said, "but not too many people are world record holders."
At the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brown set a Paralympic record in the 100-meter race and won gold.
Now in Tokyo, he said he hopes to defend his title, but he isn't putting too much pressure on himself.
"I've already proven myself," he said. "I've already achieved so much within this sport. You know, it's one of them things, this will just add on to the resume."
This race will come with an added challenge: Brown will be running with a new guide. His longtime guide, Jerome Avery, got injured a few months ago. Moray Stewart will guide him, instead.
Guides are the people who help Paralympic runners know where to go on the track. They're connected by the wrist or finger using a piece of rope called a "tether." The guide pulls on the tether to keep the runner in their lane and yells out signals.
There are some rules: the guide is not allowed to use the tether to help the runner go faster, and the guide cannot finish ahead of the runner.
Round one of the 100-meter race starts at 7:42 p.m. CT Tuesday night. Brown will be running in the second of four heats. The top finisher in each heat, plus the next four fastest finishers, will advance to the semifinals. Those take place at 7:12 a.m. CT Wednesday morning.
The races will be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports App.
