# @nycmarathon on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CgSguDApQu3
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/14260875-nycmarathon-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/483356dc00.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-07-21T21:22:19.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** TCS New York City Marathon (@nycmarathon) — https://gondola.cc/nycmarathon

## Caption

“I have a vision that people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing will learn they can do anything that they dream.”

Thomas Eller is on a quest to become a wmmajors #SixStarFinisher. He will earn the 🏅 when he crosses the finish line of the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. Of the hundreds of runners who have earned this prestigious medal, none have been deaf-born. He would be the first. A trailblazer. 

Eller ran 11 marathons in 2019, including his first sub-3:00 finish at the Milan Marathon. He ran seven (!) marathons under 2:55 that year, including 2:49 in Chicago and 3:05 in New York. He completed the #TCSNYCMarathon again in 2021. This year his eyes are set on the Berlin, London, Chicago, and NYC marathons, ahead of Tokyo in 2023. 

Reflecting on what he’s already done, he says, “I can’t hear a damn thing but look and see what I have gone and done. And if I have done it, so can you.”

If you see him on the course, throw both hands up, elbows bent and hands twisting at the wrists. It’s a sign of Deaf applause. 🙌 (Swipe to learn how.) 

Join us in applauding Eller and his efforts in the comments, before reading more about his story and how you can help to be more welcoming and inclusive of deaf runners.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 1,291
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- **Comments:** 22

## Tags

sixstarfinisher, tcsnycmarathon

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