Kayleigh Williamson has completed the New York City Marathon two years in a row. In 2023 she became one of the first women with Down syndrome to cross the finish line and this year she repeated it
Kayleigh Williamson he repeated the extraordinary feat he had already accomplished last year. Indeed it has completed the New York Marathon again. In 2023 she became one of the first women with Down syndrome to cross the finish line with a time of 10 hours and 9 minutes.
But the New York marathons are not the first marathons he has completed. In 2017, in fact, he made history participating in the Austin Marathonwhere thanks to her determination she became the first person with Down syndrome to complete the journey.
Kayleigh, who is 34, has started running about ten years ago to improve your health and has since competed in addition twenty eventsincluding half marathons and full marathons at both local and national levels.
He wants to prove that anything is possible
His love for running soon turned into a mission: wants prove that everything is possible and that there are no insurmountable limits. With the support of his mother Sandy, he embarked on a path that goes far beyond simple sporting activity, also involving the desire to honor the memory of his beloved grandmotherwho dreamed of taking her to see New York.
His first venture in the world of marathons dates back, as mentioned, to 2017 with the Austin Marathon. At the time, completing the 42 kilometers was a feat no one with Down syndrome had ever accomplishedmaking Kayleigh’s achievement a true game-changer.
Since then, her passion for running has intensified, so much so that she wants to compete in every American state, as a special tribute to her grandmother. The two major marathons in New York and Boston are important stages in his journey, but he doesn’t want to stop there. In fact, it aims to complete all six World Marathon Majorsan ambitious goal for any athlete.
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Besides running, Kayleigh is very active in other sports such as swimming and weight liftingdemonstrating great physical and mental strength. It is also active in social matters, given that – thanks to the collaboration with Adidas and the Runner 321 program – it is helping to make marathons more inclusiveencouraging the representation of neurodivergent people in sport.
With her infectious joy and support from her family, Kayleigh continues to inspire everyone with courage to believe in your dreamswhatever the difficulties. And the next record is still to be run and rewritten.
