Taylor Talbot began losing her sight at 2 years old and was legally blind by 8 from a rare degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. Now 20 years old, she has lost all sight in her right eye and only has ~5% tunnel vision in her left. And yet her sight has hardly hindered her passions in life nor her determination as an athlete. In 2021, she qualified for the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, only to have her qualification revoked after a miscalculation. She fought hard for her spot to stay on Team USA and through her athletic grit, emotional perseverance and family support, Talbot ended up competing alongside her teammates in Tokyo in the 100- and 400-meter dashes after a grueling training season.

Above, Talbot uses her cane as her youngest brother, Tyson (9) watches. She has been using it since her freshman year of high school, even though she needed it when she was younger. “I was really insecure at first because I didn’t want people to see me as just a blind girl,” Talbot said. “I’m so much more than that, but the cane is the only thing you see at first.”

Talbot listens to the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics cross country games in the days leading up to her own journey to Tokyo as a source of motivation. It had been Talbot’s dream of competing in the Olympics since she started running at 4 years old and had full sight. As her vision worsened, her passion for running only continued to grow.