Senior Sydney Barta improved on her own T64 American record in the 200m dash on Saturday at the 66th annual Mt. SAC Relays meet in Walnut, Calif.

The sunny, 85 degree weather in Southern California created the perfect environment for Barta to set a new personal best. She finished second overall in the women’s paralympic 200m dash with a time of 26.37 seconds.

Barta began jumping up and down in joy when her time appeared on the screen. She ran her previous personal best in the 200m five years ago at the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan where she finished fourth overall in an American record 26.8 seconds. 

A few hours after the race, Barta boarded the plane home with her teammates and was greeted with applause and an announcement from the captain about her record.

“We’ve got a relatively quick flight this evening, but not nearly as quick as Sydney — she just broke the American record for the 200m dash,” the Alaska Airlines pilot said over the intercom.

Teammates, coaches and fellow passengers applauded as the plane departed the gate.

This fall, Barta was also announced as the recipient of a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in musculoskeletal sciences at the University of Oxford.

Barta and the rest of the Stanford track and field team will compete again at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Cobb Track and Angell Field on May 1 in their final home meet of the season.