On Wednesday, Illinois' Jessica Galli took home the gold medal in the women's 400m dash (T53 Classification) at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. Galli, a 2006 Illinois graduate and now a graduate student working towards a degree in health policy and administration, set a new world record in the race with a time of 54.88 seconds.

"My intention and focus was to break the world record, but I had no idea I could go under 55-seconds," Galli said in a press release. "This is my third Games and this is my first Paralympic gold medal, so it means a lot to me."

Earlier this year Galli was nominated for an ESPY in the Best Female Athlete with a Physical Disability category.

Meanwhile, fellow Illini Anjali Forber-Pratt was not far behind Galli. Forber-Pratt finished the race in 57.07, which was good enough for the bronze medal. The Natick, Mass., native is currently a doctoral student in Human Resource Education and also completed her undergraduate degree in Champaign.