Paris, France — In the first of two Athletics sessions at Stade de France Friday, five Team USA athletes raced to qualify for the finals in their respective events. The men’s 100M T12, women’s 5000M T54, and men’s 100M T47 all had athletes vying for the chance to race for gold.

Noah Malone was the only U.S. athlete in three heats of the 100M T12. Malone took home silver in Tokyo but looks poised to move up on the podium this go-around. His 10.75 second mark was not only the fastest in his heat, but all three qualifying heats. Malone will have his chance to claim gold Saturday night.

“World records, gold medal, that’s what I came here to do,” said Malone. “Tomorrow night, yeah, I’m going to put on a show.”

The women’s 5000M T54 qualifiers saw two U.S. athletes competing in two separate heats. The first was now four-time Paralympian and world record holder Susannah Scaroni. While she didn’t quite hit her world record pace, her time of 11:38.34 was easily fast enough to advance to the finals.

“It never gets old,” remarked Scaroni. “I’ve learned how to soak in the moments, know that it’s the Paralympic Games but also just another race, to really cherish the time I have with my teammates and people from other countries.”

Jenna Fesemyer followed her teammate Scaroni in heat number two. Fesemyer’s time of 13:33.73 was far from her personal or season best, largely due to rainy conditions.

“We have a couple strategies,” explained Fesemyer. “The first strategy is using sandpaper gloves, it creates a little bit of a gritty surface for us when we push on our rubber surface, and the other option is Clyster, which is a sticky substance that also creates a little bit of traction. I opted for the Clyster today, and I got really lucky that I was able to slide through to the final, so if this happens again I’ll be choosing the other strategy for a stronger race.”

Despite difficult conditions, Fesemyer squeaked into the finals. Both she and Scaroni will race for gold on Saturday morning.

“So special, I look up to Susannah a lot,” said Fesemyer. “I feel really honored to share the track with her anytime but especially in the final tomorrow.”

After Scaroni and Fesemyer, Rayven Sample was the first of two athletes to run in the men’s 100M T47. While he didn’t qualify for Friday evening’s finals, he was looking ahead to competing in the 400M race.

“I’ve never claimed to be a 100(M) runner ever,” remarked Sample. “Wanted to come out here, see what the stadium is like, see what the columns are like, see what everything was right, so now going into the 400(M), there’s none of that ‘what do I do’, there’s no questions.”

If Sample isn’t considered 100M runner, Korban Best certainly is. The first-time Paralympian tied his personal best with a run of 10.78 seconds, winning his heat and qualifying for the gold medal race in the process.

“It’s a very good feeling,” proclaimed Best. “Especially for the first race and the weather conditions, so for me tying all that, it’s truly unbelievable.”

In addition to Best, Team USA has five athletes competing for gold in Para Athletics Friday night. Jaleen Roberts and Taylor Swanson run in the women’s 200M T37 Final, while Aaron Pike, Brian Siemann, and Ryan Romanchuk all race for gold in the men’s 5000M T54.