Encinitas runner takes gold in the Para Athletics World Championships

Joel Gomez, a 22-year-old Paralympic runner from Encinitas, recently won gold at the 2025 Para Athletics World Championships in New Delhi, India in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:57.71.

Gomez was born with a rare genetic disorder called blue cone monochromacy and he races in the T13 (visually impaired) division. According to a U.S. Para Track and Field press release, Gomez wasn’t the favorite coming into the Sept. 29 race but he took the lead from the start. He set a conservative pace and then made his move in an “absolutely insane” final lap, holding off two competitors to take the win on the homestretch.

“Nobody was taking the lead. And I knew that I had been working a lot more on endurance rather than speed this season,” said Gomez in the news release. “I just had to take it out and keep increasing the pace all the way to the finish.”

According to his bio, Gomez has been running track since he was nine years old, competing for the Speed to Burn Track club. After discovering Paralympic track and field when he was 14, he went on to become a two-time Paralympian, competing in both the Paris and Tokyo games.

The gold medal win was Gomez’s best world championship result, as he placed seventh in the 1500 last year. He has hopes to be in Los Angeles for the 2028 games, running on his home turf.