Newmarket Paralympic runner Elizabeth Corso wins bronze despite stress fracture

Even with a stress fracture, New Hampshire native Elizabeth Corso is still coming home from Paris with another Paralympic medal.

Corso, a Newmarket native, won a bronze medal on Saturday in the women's 1500m T13 race.

The 21-year-old, whose only event is the 1500m, competed in her second Paralympic games. In the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Corso won silver in the event.

Corso was the only American in the race, which she led until the end. Ethiopia's Tigist Mengistu won gold and Morocco's Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi won silver.

After the race, Corso revealed in an Instagram post that she competed with a stress fracture in her femur. She found out about the fracture right after she qualified, which meant she couldn't run for six weeks leading up the games.

"Even with this diagnosis, I knew I still wanted to find some way to compete! I put my head down and got to work. I spent hours on the bike, literally sweating puddles, and swam many laps in the pool," she wrote. "To be completely honest, this was some of the hardest training I’ve done physically but also mentally."

What is the 1500m T13 race?

The athletes competed in the T13 classification, which is a category for athletes with low visual impairment, according to ParalympicsGB .

Who is Elizabeth Corso?

Corso, who goes by Liza, also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she won silver in the same race.

The 21-year-old is entering her senior year at Lipscomb University.

According to her Team USA bio , Corso ran her first 5K when she was five years old.

On winning this race, she said she leaned on God and her support system.

"I leaned on my support system to get me to the starting line and I am beyond grateful for each and every one of them," she wrote on Instagram. "It truly takes a village!"

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Newmarket Paralympic runner Elizabeth Corso wins bronze despite stress fracture