Glendale resident trains for 2020 Paralympic games alongside her dog
Mar 9, 2018, 4:00 AM | Updated: 4:02 pm
(Photo by Allysa Seely)
(Photo by Allysa Seely)
PHOENIX — The next summer Paralympics are still two years away, but a Valley women has already started preparing.
Allysa Seely of Glendale has her sights set on the 2020 Paralympics, which will be held in Tokyo.
“I spend six days of the week training,” she said. “That includes swimming, biking and running. It also includes strength training and injury prevention.”
She’s primarily training in Colorado Springs alongside her golden retriever, Mowgli, who runs up to 40 miles a week with her. She describes him as “the best training partner.”
Seely is training to compete as a triathlete in swimming, biking and running. It’s the same contest she competed in and won a gold medal during the 2016 Paralympics.
“The day we raced was Sept. 11,” she said. “Obviously that day has so much meaning to us as Americans and so to be able to represent my country on that day and to bring home the gold was something that I truly haven’t found the words to describe yet.”
The 29-year-old grew up playing a number of sports. As a student at Arizona State University, she was part of the triathlon team.
She participated in a number of races until she began losing feeling in her legs and developed debilitating neurological symptoms.
In 2010, she was diagnosed with a congenital malformation of the spine and two other conditions. A delay in diagnosis and treatment resulted in a traumatic brain injury that caused her to have part of her left leg amputated in 2013.
Several weeks after her amputation, she was back to being active, beginning to swim and run again.
Since then, Seely has competed all around the world. Her accomplishments include being a two-time world paratriathlon champion.
When she’s not training or competing, she spends some of her time spreading the word about the many resources available to children with disabilities.
She pointed to Arizona Disabled Sports as an example of the resources available in Arizona. The non-profit organization provides a wide range of sports and activities for people with disabilities.
“There are so many activities that kids can be a part of and really find their passion whatever their passion may be,” she said. “For me it’s really important to get that message out there.”
Seely is also a motivational speaker. She shares her story about overcoming the challenges she faces due to her disabilities.
She said she wants people who recently developed a disability to know: “Although life has changed, it’s not over. There’s still so much life to be lived and that’s really important to me.”
