Sevan Ikeda, a 17-year-old senior, could be the first student from the California School for the Deaf in Fremont to qualify for the Cross Country State Championships three times.
Although he is sometimes overlooked by the hearing community, he does not let that stop him. Sometimes it can even be a superpower.
“It motivates me,” Ikeda told CBS News Bay Area through an interpreter, about being a deaf runner competing with the hearing community. “Everyone around me can hear and I show them that deaf people can, and so can we. I want to show them all that I can run.”
Ikeda is one of the top-ranked runners in Northern California Division 5. He won his conference championship earlier this month in the three-mile race, running just under 15 minutes, 34 seconds.
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His closest opponent was more than eight seconds slower than him.
In a sport where every second counts, he has to make sure he’s on the same playing field as everyone else, and that starts at the starting line.
“Usually I’m communicating with the official who will actually use his hand to wave, and also use the horn or gun at the same time,” Ikeda said of how he knows when the race is about to start.
Ikeda is dedicated and trains for hours every day after school. He spends the time stretching, taking care of his body and running 50-60 miles a week.
His coach, Kristopher Hatch, says he knew right away that Ikeda was something special.
“He has been one of our best runners in school history,” Hatch said of Ikeda. “He has already elevated himself to a national level, to an elite level.”
Ikeda has been running since sixth grade and initially trained with the hearing community. His progress then accelerated at the California School for the Deaf, where he could communicate more easily with his coach.
“He has already broken almost all of our school records, not only in cross country, but also in spring track and field in the 800 meters, the 1600 and the 3200,” Hatch said.
Ikeda is preparing for the 2025 Deaflypmics in Tokyo, where he hopes to medal.
But before that, he’ll compete in the North Coast Section Championships on Saturday and expect to qualify for the Northern California Division 5 state championships.
He does admit that it can sometimes be isolating to be a deaf runner among mostly hearing competitors, but he does everything he can to bridge the gap.
“After the race I can’t say ‘hello’ or ‘well done’, but sometimes I am assertive and use my phone and communicate with them and learn from each other that way,” Ikeda said.
In the final days he relaxes his training so that he is well rested in the hope of taking the victory.
“I’ll take it easy on Thursday, Friday, and then I’ll be done on Saturday,” Ikeda said. ‘One o’clock that afternoon. I’ll see you there!’
Setting the pace to continue making a name for yourself.
