‘At age 16, Joel Gomez of Encinitas took 11th place in the 1,500-meter run in a visually impaired class at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.

His potential was obvious. His results fell short. He was 10th at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, sixth at the 2023 Paris world meet, sixth at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and seventh at the 2024 Kobe world meet.

But on Day 4 of his latest global championships — the World Para meet Tuesday in the Indian capital of New Delhi — Gomez broke through.

First in the combined T12-T13 class 1500.

Now age 22, the Purdue University civil engineering graduate took the early lead in the metric mile just before 9:30 a.m. local time.

“But instead of setting a blistering pace, he controlled the race at a conservative clip relying on his kick in the

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