WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Three-time Paralympian Evan Austin is ready to race at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Austin and his connections to Purdue swimming & diving were featured as part of NBC's coverage of the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in June. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee shared the video feature with Purdue Athletics for use here at PurdueSports.com and on social media.
Austin shares his gratitude for the staff at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center and details his kinship with all the Boilermakers that call the pool home.
Featured clips in the video segment...
• John Klinge: "Evan is an assistant catalyst to everything we're doing. Whether he's on deck or in the water, he's really a coach in the water. His enthusiasm is contagious to everybody."
• Evan Austin: "I've got a family here at Purdue that welcomed me. I just consider myself very fortunate. The grind is just part of it." … "It's a unique position that I'm in here at Purdue. I'm so thankful that I basically made a cold call to the assistant coach, [told her] I wanted to be closer to my family. Purdue opened its doors to me."
Austin headlines a quartet of Boilermakers in Tokyo for the Paralympic Games. His first event (200m IM) is Thursday, Aug. 26 during the 8 p.m. ET session in Tokyo. Makayla Nietzel was a finalist in the 100-meter fly in her Paralympic debut earlier this week. The full group in Tokyo includes…
• Evan Austin (Swimming/Purdue Assistant Coach) – As a three-time Paralympian, Austin has been selected among the three captains for the U.S. Para Swim Team. The Terre Haute native and Indiana State alumnus began training at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center in the fall of 2019 while also serving as a volunteer assistant under head coach John Klinge. He was on site with the Purdue women at the last two Big Ten Championships in Iowa City and Minneapolis. Austin qualified for the Paralympic Games in the 50-meter butterfly (S7), 200-meter individual medley (SM7) and 400-meter freestyle (S7). He was victorious in the 50 fly at the 2019 Para World Swimming Championships. Earlier this year, Austin set American records in the 200 and 400 free at the Para Swimming World Series in Texas. He has spastic paraplegia.
• Makayla Nietzel (Swimming/Freshman Student at Purdue) – Nietzel enrolled this month at Purdue in the College of Health and Human Sciences. The Crystal Lake, Illinois, native qualified for the Paralympics in the 100-meter butterfly (S13) and 400-meter freestyle (S13). With her Crystal Lake co-op teams, she won multiple state titles in the freestyle events and 100 breaststroke. She's also an Illinois state record holder. Nietzel is legally blind due to a genetic visual impairment called albinism. She also has Asperger's syndrome.
• Joel Gomez (Track & Field/Freshman Student at Purdue) – Gomez enrolled this month at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and plans to major in industrial engineering technology. He qualified for the Paralympics in the 1,500 meters (T13). The Encinitas, California, native raced at the 2019 Para World Athletics Championships and won a pair of gold medals (400 and 1500 meters) that same year at the World Para Athletics Junior Championships. Gomez is legally blind due to a genetic visual impairment called blue cone monochromacy.
• Julie Dussliere (Chief of Paralympic Sport for the USOPC/Purdue Alumna) – Dussliere oversees the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee's high-performance planning and support processes and sport development projects for the 27 summer and winter Paralympic sports. She also directs the day-to-day operations for the six Paralympic sports managed by the USOPC, a list that includes swimming and track & field at the summer Paralympics. She began her USOPC career in 2003, joining U.S. Paralympics as an associate director and head coach of the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Team. Dussliere swam at Purdue in the early 1990s and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Russian from the university's School of Languages and Cultures.
Austin shares his gratitude for the staff at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center and details his kinship with all the Boilermakers that call the pool home.
Featured clips in the video segment...
• John Klinge: "Evan is an assistant catalyst to everything we're doing. Whether he's on deck or in the water, he's really a coach in the water. His enthusiasm is contagious to everybody."
• Evan Austin: "I've got a family here at Purdue that welcomed me. I just consider myself very fortunate. The grind is just part of it." … "It's a unique position that I'm in here at Purdue. I'm so thankful that I basically made a cold call to the assistant coach, [told her] I wanted to be closer to my family. Purdue opened its doors to me."
Austin headlines a quartet of Boilermakers in Tokyo for the Paralympic Games. His first event (200m IM) is Thursday, Aug. 26 during the 8 p.m. ET session in Tokyo. Makayla Nietzel was a finalist in the 100-meter fly in her Paralympic debut earlier this week. The full group in Tokyo includes…
• Evan Austin (Swimming/Purdue Assistant Coach) – As a three-time Paralympian, Austin has been selected among the three captains for the U.S. Para Swim Team. The Terre Haute native and Indiana State alumnus began training at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center in the fall of 2019 while also serving as a volunteer assistant under head coach John Klinge. He was on site with the Purdue women at the last two Big Ten Championships in Iowa City and Minneapolis. Austin qualified for the Paralympic Games in the 50-meter butterfly (S7), 200-meter individual medley (SM7) and 400-meter freestyle (S7). He was victorious in the 50 fly at the 2019 Para World Swimming Championships. Earlier this year, Austin set American records in the 200 and 400 free at the Para Swimming World Series in Texas. He has spastic paraplegia.
• Makayla Nietzel (Swimming/Freshman Student at Purdue) – Nietzel enrolled this month at Purdue in the College of Health and Human Sciences. The Crystal Lake, Illinois, native qualified for the Paralympics in the 100-meter butterfly (S13) and 400-meter freestyle (S13). With her Crystal Lake co-op teams, she won multiple state titles in the freestyle events and 100 breaststroke. She's also an Illinois state record holder. Nietzel is legally blind due to a genetic visual impairment called albinism. She also has Asperger's syndrome.
• Joel Gomez (Track & Field/Freshman Student at Purdue) – Gomez enrolled this month at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and plans to major in industrial engineering technology. He qualified for the Paralympics in the 1,500 meters (T13). The Encinitas, California, native raced at the 2019 Para World Athletics Championships and won a pair of gold medals (400 and 1500 meters) that same year at the World Para Athletics Junior Championships. Gomez is legally blind due to a genetic visual impairment called blue cone monochromacy.
• Julie Dussliere (Chief of Paralympic Sport for the USOPC/Purdue Alumna) – Dussliere oversees the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee's high-performance planning and support processes and sport development projects for the 27 summer and winter Paralympic sports. She also directs the day-to-day operations for the six Paralympic sports managed by the USOPC, a list that includes swimming and track & field at the summer Paralympics. She began her USOPC career in 2003, joining U.S. Paralympics as an associate director and head coach of the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Team. Dussliere swam at Purdue in the early 1990s and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Russian from the university's School of Languages and Cultures.
| PURDUE'S EVENT SCHEDULE AT TOKYO PARALYMPICS All Days/Times Converted to USA's Eastern Time All Start Times are for that Day's Session of Competition Stream the Action on NBC Sports & Peacock Apps |
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| Start Time | Boilermaker | Event | Notable | Watch |
| TUESDAY, AUG. 24 | ||||
| 8 p.m. | Makayla Nietzel | 100m Butterfly (S13) | Prelim Heats; Event 13 of 16 in Session | NBCSN, NBColympics.com |
| WEDNESDAY, AUG. 25 | ||||
| 4 a.m. | Makayla Nietzel | 100m Butterfly (S13) | Final – Top 8 in Prelims Qualify; Event 13 of 16 in Session | NBCSN, NBColympics.com |
| THURSDAY, AUG. 26 | ||||
| 8 p.m. | Evan Austin | 200m IM (SM7) | Prelim Heats; Event 11 of 14 in Session | NBColympics.com |
| 8 p.m. | Makayla Nietzel | 400m Freestyle (S13) | Prelim Heats; Event 14 of 14 in Session | NBColympics.com |
| FRIDAY, AUG. 27 | ||||
| 4 a.m. | Evan Austin | 200m IM (SM7) | Final – Top 8 in Prelims Qualify; Event 11 of 14 in Session | NBCSN, NBColympics.com |
| 4 a.m. | Makayla Nietzel | 400m Freestyle (S13) | Final – Top 8 in Prelims Qualify; Event 14 of 14 in Session | NBCSN, NBColympics.com |
| SATURDAY, AUG. 28 | ||||
| 8 p.m. | Evan Austin | 400m Free (S13) | Prelim Heats; Event 1 of 11 in Session | NBColympics.com |
| SUNDAY, AUG. 29 | ||||
| 4 a.m. | Evan Austin | 400m Free (S13) | Final – Top 8 in Prelims Qualify; Event 1 of 11 in Session | NBCSN, NBColympics.com |
| 8:30 p.m. | Joel Gomez | 1,500 Meters (T13) | Finals Only Event; No Prelims Contested | NBColympics.com |
| MONDAY, AUG. 30 | ||||
| 8:30 p.m. | Joel Gomez | 1,500 Meters (T13) | Final – Top 8 in Prelims Qualify; Event 4 of 17 in Session | NBColympics.com |
| THURSDAY, SEPT. 2 | ||||
| 8 p.m. | Evan Austin | 50m Butterfly (S7) | Prelim Heats; Event 7 of 16 in Session | NBColympics.com |
| FRIDAY, SEPT. 3 | ||||
| 4 a.m. | Evan Austin | 50m Butterfly (S7) | Final – Top 8 in Prelims Qualify; Event 7 of 16 in Session | NBCSN, NBColympics.com |