On Triathlon: More Thoughts From The CapTex Tri

Part of my reason for going to Austin on the weekend of May 26th was to participate in my first paratriathlon.  “What?” I hear you say.  “You’ve been doing triathlon since 2007!”  Yep, I have.  But in all of my time of doing triathlon as an athlete with a few physical issues, I had never participated in a “paratriathlon” – a triathlon specifically for “challenged” athletes.

The experience was extraordinary.  A great part of that is down to the people I met.  It is hard for me to summarise what exactly it was like.  Perhaps Tracey Emin comes closest in her drawing for the 2012 Paralympics…

In absolutely every single athlete I met, there was a determination.  A determination to go and race the best race that we could.  A determination to not let life slip past us.  A determination to live life on our own terms.  It is this determination that I could relate to… And it is this determination that I think that makes the mindset of a para-athlete unique.

When I first saw Tracey’s poster for the 2012 Paralympics, I had to buy it.  It made me cry.  I told her that on Boxing Day last year when I ran into her (she lives in my neighbourhood in London).  I don’t know if she realised why, or if she knows what she so beautifully expresses.  To me she cuts straight to the core of why sport is so beautiful, especially for a challenged athlete.  Through sport we can seek constant improvement.  We can seek to better ourselves.  We can work hard and breathe deep, and by doing so we can live life.

I met an athlete in Austin whose words moved me in a similarly profound way to the way Tracey’s drawing did (and does).  John Register, member of the United States Paralympic Committee, spoke at the Wounded Warriors dinner.  Actually, he orated – a beautiful, compelling, moving speech.  John told us his story.  An aspiring Olympic hurdler, he was training for the US Olympic trials and suffered a catastrophic accident.  Rather than clearing a hurdle, he hit it.  The impact forced a medial dislocation of his kneecap, which in turn severed his femoral artery.  Repair surgery did not work, and just days after being on the track as 49th fastest hurdler in the world, he had an above the knee amputation, a moment which changed his life in ways I just cannot begin to imagine.

But what I can imagine – what I experience, what I feel, and what touched my core when he said it – is what John described.  He explained that he found that in order to live his life – his new life as an amputee – he needed to draw on his friends, his family and his faith to overcome his fears.  And he found that through overcoming his fears that he both discovered who he was and that he was able to *live*.  And that by overcoming his fears – by getting onto the track and learning to run again – he touched true freedom.

“Overcome fear, touch freedom”

John’s story touches people in so many ways. 

From Melissa Stockwell, who heard John speak as she was recovering in Walter Reid Army Medical Centre after becoming the first female combat amputee in US history.  Melissa was the 2011 USA Paratriathlete of the year.  And she is a wicked fast athlete.

To my sister.  Who took away this from John’s dinner speech:

“One inspire many”

My sister joined me at CapTex and took lots of photos from the weekend – especially photos of the para-athletes—racing, determined, living life.  I was so pleased she could be there.  She helped me to ice my chest after my bicycle topple, to calm my nerves before my race start, and she saw and helped me through the emotional highs and lows of the weekend.  I couldn’t think of a better person to share that with.

She had to catch a flight back to Florida so we weren’t able to have a post-race pre-flight brunch together, but when I finally got back to our room after my visit to the medical tent I saw that she left me a note.  That note made me cry. The weekend was just so profound for me in so many ways, but her words… They were a perfect summary of what the paratriathlon experience showed her… And they also capture what triathlon has given to me…

3 responses to “On Triathlon: More Thoughts From The CapTex Tri”

  1. Beautifully expressed, Donna.

    You inspire me, too. I’m so glad I got to know you through the magic of Twitter!

  2. Donna:

    You are amazing. I was just searching through google and found this article. Thank you for your warming words.

    You really touched me today from words written so long ago. Thanks for inspiring me.

    John

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