Liza Corso’s name forever will be etched in Lipscomb athletics history before she even suits up in purple and gold.
Before she attends QuestWeek or attends her first class, incoming freshman Corso will represent the United States’ National Paralympics Team at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Corso comes to Lipscomb from Newmarket, N.H., where she established herself as one of the state’s top high school distance runners despite being legally blind. She has qualified for the women’s 1500-meter final at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo after finishing first in the 1600-meter, first in the 800-meter, and third in the 3200-meter at the New Hampshire Division III state meet earlier this year.
A 2021 graduate of Portsmouth Christian Academy in Dover, N.H., Corso has a low-vision disorder called albinism, a genetic condition that renders her vision 20/200.
Corso, 17, began running when she participated in a 5K at age 5, and she has participated in cross country and track and field competitions since sixth grade. She has also competed in basketball, gymnastics, swimming and competitive jump rope during her athletic career.
Her already-illustrious career is only set to grow in stature during her time in Nashville. She will join Lipscomb’s women’s cross country team as one of five incoming freshmen when she returns from Tokyo, and she is also on the women’s track and field roster and will compete alongside 10 other freshmen for the Bisons this spring.
To qualify for the Paralympic Games, an athlete must hold an active World Para Athletics License, achieve a Minimum Entry Standard performance, and be internationally classified with a “confirmed” sport class status, per the International Paralympic Committee. Corso’s Minimum Entry Standard was achieved by finishing in the top six in the T13 class of the 1500-meter. She is the youngest runner in the T13 ranking to qualify and the third-youngest among all classes of athletics participants.
Corso’s race will take place at 7 a.m. local time Aug. 28 on Track 13 at Olympic Stadium.The final race will be nationally televised live on cable via NBC Sports Network and the Olympic Channel. The race can also be streamed live on NBCOlympics.com on a browser.
Photo via Grace Oetting, Track Assistant Coach