Jayci Simon, 19, may seem like an average college student.
She studies exercise science and kinesiology at Lansing Community College, hails from St. Johns, Michigan and plays badminton.
Oh, and she recently made history, winning silver at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games for Team USA, the country’s first-ever medal in mixed doubles badminton.
An illustrious badminton career was not always in the cards for Simon, who played sports every since she could walk: soccer, basketball and gymnastics to name a few.
At seven years old, she was diagnosed with Geleophysic Dysplasia, a rare form of dwarfism that only 40 people had before her. Doctors told her she wouldn’t be able to play sports.
Simon was initially devastated. Her mother, Amy, was relieved because other possibilities and conditions were associated with a shorter life expectancy.
She continued to play basketball and other sports, but as she got older, it became harder. Other kids were growing and getting faster and, with her condition, Simon couldn’t keep up.
In 2013, Simon participated in the World Dwarf Games at MSU, which she called an eye-opening experience. Two years later, she attended the Little People of America Conference mainly because they offered recreational sports. She came back the next year.
Everything changed for Simon in 2016, when she was recruited to play badminton. Simon’s mother received an email after the LPA Conference, explaining her daughter’s proper fit as a badminton player.
So, Simon gave the unique racquet sport a chance.
“(We) bought a set from Menards, brought it home and started playing in my grandparents’ backyard,” Simon said.
Simon became more involved in badminton, often attending camps and clinics — typically in Chicago. Her first international tournament was in 2018 in Peru, where she “fell in love” with the sport.
Miles Krajewski, her doubles partner at the 2024 Paris Games, met Simon as her opponent in 2015. They didn’t really know each other but reconnected at the 2016 LPA Conference.
Qualifying and community support
The qualification period for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games lasted from mid-2022 to March 2024 with the World Championships in Thailand, where the top six teams for mixed doubles advanced to the Paralympics. Simon and Krajewski were the wild-card sixth team.
Simon said the pair went to eight or nine international tournaments and competitions, fewer than in other countries, mainly because the two were self-funded — a difficulty when having to travel, dine and house in multiple countries. Simon’s community lended a hand and Amy Simon, a single mom, worked even harder to help her daughter.
Simon held fundraisers and people in the community dropped off soda cans. Amy Simon picked up a second job. She’s a school speech and language pathologist and created virtual sessions for extra money.
Simon said when she found out she qualified for the Paralympics, it was as if her mom qualified as well.
“She sacrifices a lot for me,” Simon said.
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Amy Simon delivered her daughter the news.
“I was coming home from LCC and heading to work, and I was wondering when it was going to come out,” Simon said. “I was driving past a Starbucks on the way and I got a call from my mom and she was screaming her head off. She was like ‘You did it, you qualified,’ and I was like, ‘What? No way.’ I was at a loss for words. I couldn’t believe it.”
Simon said she was “jumping up and down” in her car and started to call everyone she knew. Then, she clocked into work at Avery Eye Care Center in St. Johns. She brought her coworkers up to speed.
“They’ve supported me throughout this whole process and so they were excited to hear the news,” Simon said.
When the news became public, Simon’s community showed unwavering support. Over 200 houses posted yard signs featuring her on the front. Simon was in the homecoming parade and tons of kids asked for autographs, which Simon said she never expected.
The challenges
Growing up in a different way than her peers came with its struggles, Simon said. She was still competitive, athletic and skillful, but height was the main issue.
“That was when I turned towards badminton because I knew there was more of an opportunity and potential for me to go far in that,” Simon said.
Even though Simon’s height kept her from playing basketball or other sports she grew up with, she was tenacious and persevered.
“(My height) definitely bothered me at first, but my mom taught me to use that as fuel to my fire, so I kind of use that as motivation,” Simon said. “That’s the characteristic I developed that I think is super valuable to getting me this far in my journey. No matter what anyone says, I’ve never let it stop me.”
Simon doesn’t have an official coach, another challenge she’s faced since starting badminton. She has an unofficial coach who she has to travel to Nebraska to see.
This past summer, from May until just before the 2024 Paralympics, Simon and Krajewski trained at Frisco Badminton in Texas, which was “super beneficial.” They trained Monday through Friday, practicing around five to seven hours per day and had “very intense” sessions.
Then the two were off to Paris.
2024 Paris Paralympic Games
Simon brought her whole family to the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, including her grandparents, a “surreal experience.”
Simon later found out that her mom and grandmother bought tickets before she qualified, confident in her chances.
Simon and Krajewski played in the SH-6 mixed doubles division, which is for short-stature and standing athletes. There are six total divisions in four classifications: WH-1 and WH-2 for athletes using a wheelchair, SL-3 and SL-4 for athletes with lower limb impairments, SU-5 for athletes with upper limb impairments and SH-6.
The pair’s biggest match of the tournament came in the semifinal against India. Simon knew it would be a close match heading in, and it went a full three sets and “brought out a lot of emotions.”
Though Simon and Krajewski lost in the finals to China, the duo still brought home the country’s first mixed doubles badminton medal in the Paralympics.
“It’s what I dreamed of and imagined, so I just kind of embraced the opportunity. Having competed on that big of a stage definitely got my adrenaline going and pumped me up,” Simon said. “It’s kind of crazy to see that in just eight years, I’ve been able to go from playing in my grandparent’s backyard, not knowing much of anything, to competing in the Paralympics.”
For now, the 19-year-old college student who has traveled to Brazil, Turkey, Australia and about a dozen more countries — and recently visited the White House with other Olympians and Paralympians — is planning on staying in Michigan. Simon isn’t worried about what’s next. Instead, she’s “soaking up” the Paralympics experience.
