Submitted photo Kate Hwang stands with a medal after competing in the 2025 USATF Outdoor and Para National Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Aug. 3.

On Aug. 3, 40 athletes were crowned national champions at the 2025 USATF Outdoor and Para National Championships and were selected to advance to the 2025 Para Athletics World Championships this September in New Delhi, India.

Among them was Courtland native and 1999 New Ulm High School Graduate Kate Hwang, née Hoffmann. Hwang placed first in the women’s shot put F36 and in women’s 100-meter dash T36 and placed second overall in women’s long jump, where she set a national record for the F36 class in her first-ever Para National Championships.

Hwang said the opportunity came up after just a few years in the para track and field space, where her numbers caught the attention of the national team’s coaches.

“It’s just kind of a storybook journey,” Hwang said. “I was just competing in para track and field for maybe two and a half years, and that circuit is with Move United. Just competing in smaller track and field meets for the past two years with Move United, going to smaller meets around the country. Unbeknownst to me, when you compete, they get plugged into a national database, and I guess USA Track and Field had been looking at my numbers.

“This last nationals that I competed at under Move United, there were some scouts there, and some of the numbers that I’ve been hitting over the years, they’d been looking at me, and this last one they approached myself and my coach and were like, ‘Hey, is she serious about competing?’ And we were like, ‘Yeah, I am.'”

Team USA invited Hwang to the 2025 USATF Outdoor and Para National Championships in Eugene, OR.

“We didn’t even think that that was an opportunity that I could have,” Hwang said. “I said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ And from there it was a whirlwind kind of thing, because I had three weeks, two weeks to prepare and get my mindset to go to nationals in Eugene and get all my paperwork to compete there.”

Hwang ran a 15.88 in the 100- meter dash, jumped a record 3.29 meters in the long jump, and had a throw of 8.01 meters in shot put.

“From there, they made the selections to the team right after the events,” Hwang said. “And I found out that I was ranked first to go to worlds, and that was another mind-boggling thing to be like, ‘Wow, this is taking the next step in this journey for me.’ Now I have about 30 days to get ready to compete over in India. I think three months ago or even a month ago I would have never seen myself competing on the international stage, so it’s just storybook.”

The national event this year, for the first time ever, combined the outdoor and para national championships into one location and time from July 31 to Aug. 3.

“First of all, it was awesome to be part of such a historic event,” Hwang said. “And then to compete in Track Town, USA, one of the most beautiful places to see in track and field events, it was just awesome to be there. And then to see people that you see on TV — Noah Lyles — compete and watch him practice and warm up — people with Olympic medals around their necks. And then to see para athletes that compete in the Para Olympics, it was just amazing to see their process and how they warm up and how they practice and watch them run races and throw. It was just absolutely incredible to be in that space, and I was just very blessed to be in that space and watch and learn.”

Hwang suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2003 while serving as a police officer in Kansas City, Missouri. Growing up, Hwang always wanted to be a police officer but was forced to medically retire due to seizures caused by the injury.

“After I was injured with the police department, there was almost a decade where I was super lost, and I didn’t know where I fit in, because when I was in high school, all I wanted to do was be a cop. So that was my huge goal in life, was to be a police officer, and when I got out to the force, I loved my job and I loved what I did. And I felt like I carried out my duties as a law enforcement officer really, really well.

“When I became injured, everything kind of changed. When I was finally medically retired, it was a huge loss for me, both as a career and identity. There was a huge emptiness. So it took a really, really long time for me to try to figure out who I was again and what I was capable of both physically, mentally and emotionally, all those spaces.”

However, Hwang found new purpose in advocating and participating in adaptive sports.

“It really has been in these last seven years in adaptive sports where I have really found my niche,” Hwang said. “Both personally and professionally. I have a nonprofit now, Adaptive Warrior KC Foundation, where we help others here in the Kansas City area, and the Midwest is now growing with adaptive sports. There’s finding joy in adaptive sports and adaptive fitness, but I also compete and find my own joy in that.”

Hwang believes that supporting adaptive sports and fitness is very important for those suffering from traumatic brain injuries.

“I think it’s hugely important,” Hwang said. “People with brain injuries, any individual who has had a traumatic brain injury … a lot of times, they’re invisible. After they’ve recovered, they still suffer from physical and emotional issues that have occurred from their traumatic brain injury. From the outside world, they look like everything’s fine, but they still suffer from a lot of emotional or physical issues that happen from their traumatic brain injury.”

Hwang said her success in track and field represents a lot for those suffering from similar injuries.

“I think that having someone that succeeds both professionally or in the sports world, having someone relatable to that is important,” she said. “Because a lot of times, people with physical disabilities get a lot of play, because you can physically see it. Not to say that that’s not difficult in and of itself, but sometimes the invisible injuries get missed, so I’m very proud to represent people with traumatic brain injuries, because there’s a lot of us walking out there with that invisible injury.”

Hwang is now preparing for the 2025 Para Athletics World Championships, which are set to be held in New Delhi, India, from Sep. 26 to Oct. 5, where she will compete in the shot put and 100- meter events.

“I don’t think I have too many expectations other than to enjoy the experience and enjoy the ride,” Hwang said. “I was super excited to just represent my country. It’s anybody’s dream to play a sport and represent their country and wear that flag on their chest or on their sleeve. I get emotional talking about it.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to go and have that experience. I’m making all the preparations and doing all the training to put myself in a good place to bring back some hardware.