California School for the Deaf alum Sevan Ikeda chases international dreams as record-breaking runner

When Sevan Ikeda finishes a big race he doesn t hear the cheers of his fans But he sees them and more importantly he feels their presence And when he runs he has an entire society behind him An alumnus of California School for the Deaf in Fremont Ikeda is an elite runner who has broken multiple national prep records for deaf athletes And he is not done yet Sevan Ikeda a member of the USA Deaf Track and Field band holds a collection of high school running medals on Thursday July in Fremont Calif Ikeda will compete in Nov at the th Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group Now Ikeda has set his sights on the international stage He has qualified for the Deaflympics in November a competition for elite deaf athletes that is held every four years mirroring the interval of the traditional Summer Olympics To get there he ll need a little help The Deaflympics will be held in Tokyo and Ikeda must raise to cover movement lodging meals and insurance Ikeda competed at last year s World Deaf Athletics Championships in Taipei winning a silver medal in the But a trip to the Tokyo Deaflympics would be even more rewarding This is a huge opportunity for me Ikeda advised the Bay Area News Group in an email exchange What makes this Deaflympics even more special is that it s being held in Japan a country that s part of my heritage One side of my family is from Japan Competing there carries deep personal meaning for me I m honored to qualify and compete alongside top Deaflympics athletes a multitude of of whom have made their mark in the national deaf prep records Sevan Ikeda a member of the USA Deaf Track and Field gang on Thursday July in Fremont Calif Ikeda will compete in Nov at the th Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group Ikeda just graduated from CSD and is committed to Gallaudet University in Washington D C where he will run cross country and track alongside other elite deaf athletes The university is named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet an influential th-century educator who founded the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut CSD has a Gallaudet Drive on campus The throughline between the two schools highlights how connected the deaf region is in the U S And at present Ikeda has a convoy at his back as he chases his dreams California School for the Deaf runner Sevan Ikeda runs alongside a competitor from Texas during the Berg Seeger Track Field Classic in Austin Texas in April Courtesy of California School for the Deaf I feel privileged to have the opportunity to compete alongside other deaf athletes at the collegiate level Ikeda noted Ikeda has to address challenges other athletes don t during a race Since he can t hear the starting gun he watches the starter intently I tend to feel the vibration of the gun but I prefer looking at the signaler as they sometimes wave their hand or smoke comes out of the gun Ikeda mentioned These sights are aspects that mean the race has started Once his race kicks off Ikeda has to keep his senses attuned to track where the other runners are especially if they re behind him California School for the Deaf runner Sevan Ikeda competes in a race Courtesy of California School for the Deaf I m fully focused on myself and strategizing so I m not sensing the fans he explained However I keep my eyes open to see the surroundings of runners racing against me While I don t know if there s a runner behind I tend to watch my coach who lets me know if there s a runner close to me That s not reliably a common occurrence for the speedy Ikeda And when the race ends Ikeda can t communicate with his competitors in the same way hearing athletes can But he s ascertained other procedures to connect I ve made friends as we communicated through texting or using a note app Ikeda revealed We ve met up and run together for fun Sevan Ikeda a member of the USA Deaf Track and Field group on Thursday July in Fremont Calif Ikeda will compete in Nov at the th Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group College Prep runner Emiya Rendall-Jackson has been Ikeda s friendly rival for three seasons The two competed for gold medals often and pushed each other to personal bests Ikeda mentioned Because Sevan was this runner that was constantly pushing me to become a better runner myself I longed to be able to find a way to connect with him more deeply Rendall-Jackson narrated the Bay Area News Group So that led me to want to start learning American Sign Language to hopefully be able to communicate with him Rendall-Jackson has progressed to the point where he and Ikeda primarily communicate through ASL Rendall-Jackson also speaks Japanese and Spanish and disclosed learning ASL has opened up another part of the world for him It s been like building a bridge to this new world almost Rendall-Jackson explained When I was in Japan and I was on this Mount Fuji bus tour I noticed that one of the people in my group was also deaf and they were using American Sign Language I was definitely able to communicate with them through the ASL that I learned for Sevan Ikeda has already made history in his high school career During track season in the spring he broke the national deaf prep records in the meters and meters He reset the record with a time of at the East Bay Invitational on April and he raised the bar in the on May at the Bay Area Conference championships clocking a time of Ikeda lowered his own record at the NCS Meet of Champions in late May bridging the finish line in to place eighth overall in the field California School for the Deaf runner Sevan Ikeda competes in a race Courtesy of California School for the Deaf Latest the national deaf prep record was incredibly inspiring especially since I ve dreamed of achieving this since my freshman year Ikeda stated It was a thrill to finish the with both a national deaf prep record and a personal best Ikeda has attained this position in the international sporting sphere thanks to years of commitment and sacrifice He has been running since middle school but has really progressed in his four years at CSD Sevan is a prime example of the old adage hard work pays off CSD track coach Eric Kunze announced Ever since Sevan s freshman year he has been running his tail off year-round putting in hard work and following all the coaches advice and instructions for both cross country and track It was quite rewarding Ikeda is not only a standout runner he s an example to others at CSD of what they can accomplish Kunze noted Ikeda has made distance running relevant at CSD and his track events became must-see events because of his elite skills in that field At the Berg Seeger Classic in April an annual national meet of deaf track and field athletes held in Austin Texas Ikeda inspired numerous spectators to come out and watch his signature events All of them were left in awe and inspired by how he conducted himself and indicated his talents Kunze mentioned Ikeda hopes the next step in his long-running journey will lead him to Tokyo this fall As of Thursday he s raised toward his goal With the help of others Ikeda is determined to make it to Japan and represent his dual heritage But wherever he goes he ll have a village running alongside him for every mile of the trail Related Articles How Archbishop Mitty Stanford alum Haley Jones is finding her WNBA groove A list of sports organizations that have begun transgender competition bans Making hoops affordable Don t let the duct-taped jerseys fool you Popular prep football statistics source goes private putting Central Coast Section on clock Najee Harris likely set for Chargers non-football injury list after Antioch firework episode These kinds of accomplishments don t happen every day and I truly value them as a deaf athlete competing against other great athletes Ikeda reported This achievement means a lot because it shows others like me that it s doable Sometimes you don t even realize you ve reached greatness while chasing your goals but you have I hope others see that and feel inspired to chase their dreams too They are We have all been a part of his journey toward becoming an elite athlete and enjoyed watching Sevan accomplish feats that make us shake our heads Kunze stated The CSD track public rallied behind him and cheered him on during races and felt inspired whenever he broke a school record or a national deaf prep record If he continues to work hard and apply himself to running and learning new techniques skills and tactics for long-distance races he has the prospective to be considered one of the best deaf athletes to ever compete You can donate to Ikeda s fundraising effort by visiting www mightycause com story Sevan