Former Savannah resident Ryan Medrano overcoming physical obstacles, living life to the fullest

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - There’s just something special about a story that inspires anyone lucky enough to stumble upon it.

Ryan Medrano was a Savannah resident when his father’s time in the military had him stationed here. Despite moving out of the Coastal Empire in the second grade, Ryan and his siblings visited family in Savannah and on Tybee Island every summer for years.

No one could’ve guessed the journey Ryan would find himself on, on top of physical trials he had to face. This is his inspiring story of commitment and self-belief.

“Well it’s a Cinderella story, so if you get to nationals and if you’re fast enough. It might be your Cinderella story but I guess you gotta call me Cinderella now because I’m going to get this done.”

Ryan Medrano may not be Cinderella, but his story is straight out of a movie. Ryan has had Cerebral Palsy his entire life.

Medrano: “Cerebral Palsy is a very broad diagnosis. There’s mild cases, like me, where I can do most things with compensation.”

It was a set back that affected his life as a kid. It wasn’t until he was a little bit older that Ryan used it as motivation to perform above outside expectations. That included participating in sports.

Medrano: “With sports, it was hard until I got to about high school. The development of my hand-eye coordination increased. The more times I dropped something, the more times I realized oh it’s probably going to fall here.”

Whether it was the diamond, mat, or track, Ryan excelled past his peers. It’s been a life that’s taken him all over the world... including Fiji. Ryan was a cast member on the 43rd season of Survivor.

“Being on that show pushed me to say the spirit, the fire is not gone. I want to beat somebody, I want to be the best version of myself.”

It was a friendship that began with another castaway after the pair left the island that set Ryan up for his next big adventure.

“To go from no track experience as an adult to less than a year, world championships.”

That friend was Paralympian Noelle Lambert. Lambert got Medrano in contact with the national team, and he literally ran with it. Just eight months after he started training in December of 2022, Medrano found out he’d be heading to Paris this summer for the Paralympic games.

“Dude you’re literally like a golden child. What do you mean? Think about it. You literally came in, we’re told you have (cerebral palsy), told you can compete, classified, and just started setting records. That doesn’t happen.”

Ryan will head to Paris this summer to compete in the 400 meter and long jump. The road to where he is now started in Savannah, a place that solidified the foundation of where he is today.

“Nothing is standing in my way, other than me being consistent, me driving myself. The amount of support I get from family in Savannah, family in Tybee, and family in Atlanta, to be around that allows me to sharpen as an athlete and as a person, and allows me to accept myself. After I did that and was able to see what was wrong with myself physically, and work on that, it’s improved my life dramatically.”

There’s plenty for Medrano to accomplish, but as he reflects on where he’s been, he says he would tell his younger self to just believe.

“I was really hard on myself. I blamed myself for things that were really couldn’t have been my fault at that young of an age. Really just be yourself, push yourself, and believe in yourself. Because you have it, it’s in the tank, you just really have to push for it.”

Ryan qualified for the Paralympics in the 400-meter and long jump.

If you’d like to donate to Ryan’s journey to Paris, go to his GoFundMe.