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Paralympic Athlete Scout Bassett Is Here to Defy the ‘Participatory’ Stereotype
The elite runner talks about the Scout Bassett Fund and why true success isn't measured by a title
Scout Bassett knows her purpose goes beyond her multiple Paralympic medals and world records.
Bassett spent seven years in a government-run orphanage in China after she was abandoned on the side of a street following the loss of her right leg and suffered severe burns from a chemical fire as an infant. She was adopted by an American couple from Michigan in 1995.
Since then, Bassett has taken the track and field world by storm. She is a 7-time 100m National Champion, the 400m World Record holder and the 200m American Record holder. Previously, she won three silver medals and one bronze at the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships on the USA Paratriathlon National Team.
In 2024, she was honored with the Clio Sports Impact Award for her advocacy work in the world of sports. Bassett spends time as a mentor, activist for people with disabilities, athlete ambassador and motivational speaker. Through the Scout Bassett Grant, created with the Women’s Sports Foundation and Athletes for Impact, female athletes with disabilities receive funding for elite competition.
Muse recently caught up with Bassett to discuss pivotal career moments, life advice and her predictions for the future of track and field.
The following has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What was a source of inspiration for you back in your teenage years when you first started track and field?
The hope that I could be something and one day become somebody. I know that’s an odd answer, but given my background—where I came from and where I grew up—I always felt destined to do more in my life. I just didn’t know what that looked like, and nothing about how I grew up would have suggested it was possible. But I kept hoping that if I continued to show up, work hard and remain passionate, things would unfold the way I dreamed.
What is a source of inspiration you return to constantly?
The grantees we support through the Scout Bassett Fund and the young girls I mentor. I didn’t realize it when I was younger, but the work of my life is for them—and for the younger version of me who lacked the resources, support, and sense of community and connection that I desperately needed as a young girl navigating this world. It’s an honor and a blessing to create a platform that invests in these women’s dreams and goals. But on a personal level, helping them navigate the same struggles I faced so they feel a little less alone is what I am most proud of.
When did you first realize a future playing professional sports was a possibility? Was there an “aha” moment?
The “aha” moment came later in my career. I ran and competed for a long time before I found success. Many people don’t realize how much failure I experienced before winning my first national championship in 2013, a year after I went to the Paralympic trials and finished last in all of my events. Within a year, I turned my entire life around.
It made a commitment to do whatever it took: making massive sacrifices, seeking the best coaching, and building the best support team. Winning my first national championship, beating the athletes who had beaten me the year before, qualifying for my first world championship and making the finals—that was when I realized, “Ok, I think we’re onto something.”
What is one thing people misunderstand about athletes with disabilities?
They see us as participatory athletes. Many people view the Paralympics as not that competitive, or they assume you don’t have to train at the same level as non-disabled athletes. It is the absolute opposite. I cannot speak for everyone, but I put far more work into my craft than most non-disabled athletes do.
The adversity and trials I went through just to compete at the elite Paralympic level were enormous. The physical work I had to put my body through was unending. I hope people can see athletes like me as elite-caliber competitors who dedicate a tremendous amount of time to what we do and love. Physically, we are as capable as any athlete. I want to change the stereotype so that when people watch the Paralympics, they understand they are watching the best of the best in the world. It is not an “everybody gets a ribbon for showing up” kind of event.
What did winning the Clio Sports 2024 Impact Award mean to you?
Winning the Impact Award at the Clio Sports Awards last year was a special, pivotal highlight of my career. It gave us credibility and shone a light on a space that many people didn’t know much about. Bringing that representation to the forefront meant so much.
What is the best career advice you actually follow?
To this day, I follow this advice: Never attach your worth or value to a place, a person, an achievement, a title or a company. Attach your value strictly to a purpose and a calling.
Those other things change constantly—where you live, people, jobs, achievements. But your purpose and calling do not come and go. If you root yourself and build your life around that purpose, that is how you maintain your peace. Whenever I have felt lost or faced uncertainty, I have returned to my purpose. That is where I find strength.
What is the last great book, article or podcast you enjoyed?
It is a heavy one, but one of the best books I’ve ever read is The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. It has incredible science-meets-real-life examples of people who have endured deep trauma. Trauma comes in all forms. It is not always the most extreme scenarios we typically think of, but everyone has faced some sort of trauma.
The author, a psychotherapist, wrote this book about his research helping people from all backgrounds navigate trauma. I highly recommend it because it helps you understand people much better.
You recently awarded Beatriz Hatz (U.S. Paralympian and Love Island Season 8) with a 2026 Scout Bassett Grant. What is the legacy you hope to leave behind for this next generation of Paralympians?
We are building something special with the Scout Bassett Fund by supporting people with disabilities, a community that is largely overlooked. I hope the fund exists long after I am gone. We want it to be a space where women feel free to be themselves and pursue their biggest athletic aspirations.
Hopefully, one of these grantees will eventually pay it forward to someone else. That is the whole idea. But I want our legacy to prove that every person has tremendous value and worth. We are trying to change a challenging narrative: When it comes to women with disabilities, society has largely viewed our bodies as not being aspirational, desirable or attractive. I want to highlight how incredible, beautiful, strong, accomplished and powerful these women are. In time, I hope we stop defining a woman with a disability by her physical limitations and instead see her as a whole person.
Finish this sentence: When I am in a creative rut, I _______.
… go to the ocean. That is my safe space and the place where I am able to let go. When I do that, the best ideas, thoughts and motivation come to me. It is nice to go to the water and just be still. I am learning to be better at sitting in that stillness near the ocean and allowing that inspiration to come to me.
You have two minutes with the industry. What is your hot take?
From a sporting perspective, I believe that one day, the fastest person in the world will run on prosthetics. And we are much closer to that reality than people think.
Outside of sports, I am concerned about the long-term effects of AI on personality, connection, and people’s ability to reason and think for themselves. We are already seeing how our culture is being altered by it. The beauty of humanity is our range of emotions, our life experiences and the uniqueness of every individual. In this digital age, we are replacing human interaction with digital connection. While there are positive aspects of AI, I do not want us to lose the human element that makes us unique.
Related: Clio Sports Announces 2026 Jury Chairs
