Mikey Brannigan to Defend World Title at 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio

East Northport running star Mikey Brannigan is set to compete in the 2016 Paralympic Games and is looking to defend his world title.

Brannigan is the 2015 Paralympics Track and Field World Champion in the men’s 1,5000 meters T20 race and a recently crowned sub-4 minute miler.

The 19-year-old, who has autism, recently set a 1 mile personal best time of 3 minutes and 57.58 seconds at the Sir Walter Miler in Raleigh, NC, on Friday, Aug. 5.

His mile time converts to 3 minutes and 40.05 seconds in the 1,500m race, which is considerably faster than the time it took Brannigan to become world champion.

In October, Brannigan defeated Iran’s Peyman Nasiri Bazanjani by just .03 to break the tape in 3 minutes and 56.50 seconds, setting a course record time at the Suhaim Bin Hamam stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Follow along with the Paralympics to see how fast Brannigan can run this year. The Paralympics will be held from Sept. 7-18.

According to the schedule, the men’s 1,500m T20 race is set to go off Tuesday, Sept. 13. Details to come.

Gook Luck, Mikey!

More on Brannigan:

• Star Northport Runner Reveals Post-Graduation Plans
• Mikey Brannigan Named U.S. Paralympics Male Track Athlete of the Year
• WATCH: Mikey Brannigan Wins Gold at Paralympic World Championships
• Mikey Brannigan Brings Home Another Paralympics World Champs Medal
• WATCH: ESPN Features Mikey Brannigan on 'E:60'

Brannigan isn’t the only Northport native in Rio. Northport’s Allie Long was selected to the U.S. Olympic Women’s National Team. Three other Long Islanders were selected to compete in Rio. Learn more about them here.

Photo Credit: Paralympics Committee