Paris, France — Of all the Paralympic Athletics events held on a track, the longest possible distance for a race is 5000 meters. That’s the equivalent of 12-and-a-half laps around the track and roughly 3.1 miles. Two U.S. athletes in the women’s T54 division of that race have forged a very strong relationship.

Jenna Fesemyer, 27, was born without a left leg and hip socket due to a rare congenital disease called proximal femoral focal deficiency. She took up wheelchair track events in 2013 and grew up competing in basketball, golf, and other sports with a prosthetic leg. Fesemyer qualified for the Tokyo Games three years ago, racing in the 1500M, 5000M, and the marathon. She’s got the same three events on her plate in Paris.

Susannah Scaroni, 33, has been around the Paralympic block a little longer. She first qualified for the London Games in 2012, only competing in the Marathon. Scaroni’s plate expanded to include the 800M race in Rio. She added two events in Tokyo- the 1500M and the 5000M. Scaroni also took home her first to Paralympic medals in Tokyo- one gold and one bronze- and came to Paris looking to add to her collection in those same four events.

Both Fesemyer and Scaroni raced in the women’s 5000M T54 finals on Saturday, and the bond between the two is now stronger than ever.

“Such a great day,” remarked Fesemyer.

“It was awesome,” exclaimed Scaroni. “We both gave everything had, I think both of us don’t take this for granted so it was a really great day to be out here together.”

Fesemyer hails from Ravenna, OH southeast of Cleveland, Scaroni from Tekoa, Washington southeast of Spokane. Those two towns are separated by over 2,000 miles. But Fesemyer and Scaroni first connected at a middle ground between the two small towns: Champaign, Illinois. Both of them attended the University of Illinois, and now they’re both competing on the biggest stage for para athletics in the world.

Both Fesemyer and Scaroni qualified for Saturday’s finals in Friday’s qualifying heats, and they both put up faster times in their second go-around. Fesemyer’s time of 12:19.68 was well over a minute faster, and Scaroni finished in 11:43.64, which not only broke the previous Paralympic record, but landed her a silver medal. Switzerland’s Catherine DeBrunner edged Scaroni by just a second-and-a-half for the gold.

“I really look up to Susannah a lot,” explained Fesemyer. “As a teammate at the University of Illinois, a teammate on Team USA, and one of my mentors, really happy for her this morning and happy to celebrate her.”

The 5000M race wasn’t the only one Fesemyer and Scaroni will compete in together. They’ll both race in the 1500M with qualifying heats on Monday ahead of finals on Tuesday. To put a bookend on the Paralympic Games, the two will compete in the Marathon next Sunday, September 8, the final day of the 2024 Paralympic Games. Fesemyer and Scaroni’s bond is one within a tight-knit group of female wheelchair long distance athletes.

“You learn something from every race,” remarked Fesemyer. “It’s good insight on how strong the field is.”

“It’s a small community,” said Scaroni. “I know all these women on and off the track, it’s in everyone’s interest to work together and go hard.”