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Arelle Middleton
Personal information
Born	February 9, 2008 (age 16); Rancho Cucamonga, California, U.S.
Sport
Sport	Para-athletics
Disability	Congenital Femoral Deficiency
Disability class	F64
Event	shot put
Medal record
Women's para-athletics
Representing the United States
Paralympic Games
World Championships

Arelle Middleton (born February 9, 2008) is an American para track and field athlete who competes in shot put and discus throw. She was a silver medalist in shot put at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, throwing a distance of 12.19 m (39 ft 11+3⁄4 in). She also plays wheelchair basketball.

Early life and education

Middleton is from Rancho Cucamonga, California. Her mother, Sandra Van Embricqs, was born in Suriname and is a former professional basketball player who now coaches girls basketball at Chino High School.^[2]^[3]

Middleton was born with Congenital Femoral Deficiency, resulting in her left leg being six inches shorter than her right leg, and her left hip being underdeveloped. The difference has varied as she has grown and had several surgeries to incrementally lengthen her leg.^[4]

Middleton has been involved in sports since she was 5 years old, playing water polo, volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, and throwing shot put and discus.^[3]

She attends Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where she competes in track and field.

Career

Shot put and discus

During her freshman year at Los Osos High School in 2023, Middleton competed in the para division at the CIF State Track & Field Championships and won the ambulatory shot put title with a state record–breaking throw of 12.02 m (39 ft 5 in).^[5]^[4]^[6] She was subsequently named a 2023 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field High School All-American.^[7]

In 2024, Middleton missed the state championships, instead making her international debut for the United States at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships, where she was the youngest member of the team at age 16.^[8] She won a silver medal in shot put F64 with a throw of 11.84 m (38 ft 10 in) and placed 6th in discus F64 with a throw of 28.98 m (95 ft 3⁄4 in).^[9] At the 2024 U.S. Paralympic Trials, she threw 11.79 m (38 ft 8 in) in shot put F64 and qualified to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.^[10]^[11]

Middleton won a silver medal in shot put F64 at the 2024 Paralympics with a throw of 12.19 m (39 ft 11+3⁄4 in) and placed 10th in discus F64 with a throw of 30.38 m (99 ft 8 in). She was not only the youngest on the U.S. team, but also the youngest U.S. medalist.^[12]^[13]^[14]

Wheelchair basketball

Middleton plays wheelchair basketball for the Rancho Halos in the junior division of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. During the 2023–24 season she was named to the second team all-tournament and the female all-tournament teams.^[15]^[16]