University of Hartford senior Chaz Davis is no stranger to the spotlight. His inspirational story of continuing to compete despite losing most of his vision has been covered many times over the years.
Most recently, he received national recognition as he was featured on the cover of the winter 2016 edition of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Champion magazine. The magazine is a quarterly publication that celebrates college sports while focusing on student-athletes who give meaning to what makes a champion.
Davis has been a member of the Hartford Hawks cross country and track teams since his arrival at UHart, but because of a rare genetic disease known as Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), he has had to deal with the loss of his diminishing eyesight. But being the tough competitor that he is, the Grafton, Massachusetts native has continued to battle and compete despite his setback.
The accompanying article in the Champion magazine detailed Davis’ battle, as well as how senior teammate Kyle Hamel helped Davis at the America East Conference Cross Country Championships by running side-by-side in tandem throughout the race.
For Davis, it was about being able to compete and just being able to run again that fueled his fire to overcome his disease.
“If you have something you think you do well or enjoy, it takes away from the other things in life that aren’t going very well,” Davis said, as was quoted in the Champion article.“When I wasn’t running, I was constantly thinking about the things I couldn’t do.”
Little by little, Davis was able to come back to compete in indoor track and field races again. He even won the 5,000-meter run at the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota over the summer. He then earned a spot to represent the U.S. at the 2015 Toronto Parapan American Games in Aug. 2015 where he claimed the silver medal.
In April 2015, the University of Hartford Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) put on the “Chaz’s Champions” walk to raise money for the fight against LHON with all donations benefitting the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.
Over the past few years, Davis’ inspirational story has been recognized several times by the local media.
In Feb. 2014, he was featured in an article in the Telegram & Gazette, the daily newspaper of Worcester near his hometown of Grafton, Massachusetts. A year later in Feb. 2015, the America East Conference posted a feature video on their website. Later that month, he appeared in a feature article in the Hartford Courant, the largest daily newspaper in Connecticut. A few months later in May, he was again featured in a story on NBC Connecticut for their “More Than The Score” TV segment.
A short documentary was produced by two Emerson College students in April 2015 titled, “Flash: The Chaz Davis Story.” The film was submitted for a contest to the New England Sports Network (NESN) with $20,000 and a television job on the line. Ultimately, the film didn’t win the big prize, but it was chosen as the “fan favorite.”
Davis was also featured in the “Runner’s World” magazine, Fox 40 in Sacramento, California and in The Sacramento Bee among others.