激情快播

Summer 2019 | By聽Nicole Dudenhoefer聽鈥�17

At 7:30 a.m. every weekday, Kyle Coon 鈥�13 begins his first of potentially four workouts for the day 鈥� a聽4,000-meter swim. Next, he鈥檒l run or bike for 90 minutes.聽And then, depending on the day, he鈥檒l push through some聽more cardio and strength and conditioning sessions. On weekends he鈥檒l complete one workout each day, either a聽long run or bike ride outdoors.

He鈥檚 followed the same routine without stop since聽January, when he became a resident at the Olympic聽Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Although聽the demands are high, Coon, a triathlete, knows they鈥檙e聽necessary to accomplish his goal of qualifying for the聽2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor and privilege to be here at a facility聽where some of the greatest Olympic athletes have聽trained,鈥� says Coon. 鈥淭hey only invite athletes that they聽think have a chance of making it to the Olympics or聽Paralympics, so it means a lot to me to be here.鈥�

In order to make it to the 2020 Paralympics, Coon聽must put forth his best efforts in as many high-profile聽races as possible during a yearlong qualification period,聽which started June 28.

Only one visually impaired man and woman who earn聽the highest rankings by the International Triathlon聽Union鈥檚 standards will represent Team USA. This聽feat will require consistently high levels of athletic聽performance, but pushing聽himself to the edge of his聽capabilities has always come聽naturally for Coon.

At the time of publication,聽Coon is ranked No. 18 in the聽world among ITU鈥檚 visually聽impaired triathletes.聽In the U.S., his biggest聽competition for making the聽Paralympic team is ITU鈥檚聽No. 2 visually impaired聽athlete Aaron Scheidies,聽an 11-time world champion聽who competed in the 2016聽Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. In March, Coon聽trailed Scheidies by less than 2 minutes to earn second聽place in the Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Paratriathlon聽American Championships. But Coon isn鈥檛 too worried.聽One workout and one race at a time, he鈥檚 steadily working聽to close the gap with Scheidies.

Although his schedule is demanding, Coon enjoys聽having a strict routine. Having lost his sight as a child,聽Coon can鈥檛 be spontaneous, not even for something as聽routine as a trip to a coffee shop or grocery store. For the聽most part, he knows what he鈥檒l be doing for the next 24聽hours. Life has demanded he develop a keen sense聽of foresight.

At 10 months old, Coon was聽diagnosed with bilateral sporadic聽retinoblastoma, the most common聽form of eye cancer for children.

鈥淲e would spend weeks in the聽hospital for chemotherapy sessions.聽At one point Kyle had 16 tumors in聽one eye and 10 in another,鈥� says Steve聽Coon, Kyle鈥檚 father. 鈥淔or my wife and聽I, those were some of the darkest聽days of our lives.鈥�

By the time he turned 7, both聽of his eyes had been surgically聽removed. Coon was an active child聽who remembers riding his bike,聽rollerblading and playing basketball.聽When his eyes were removed,聽he wondered if he would be able聽to resume his usual activities and聽how he would simply function in聽everyday life.

But shortly after, Coon鈥檚聽father introduced him to Erik聽Weihenmayer, a blind extreme聽athlete who lists downhill skiing,聽skydiving and being the first blind聽person to summit Mount Everest聽among his accomplishments. It was聽the first time Coon met an adult聽who was blind, providing him an聽idea of what was聽possible for his own聽life. Weihenmayer聽encouraged Coon to聽envision life without聽limits and suggested聽he try rock climbing.

Coon鈥檚 parents聽encouraged his聽desire to reach new聽heights. At 14, he聽participated in a聽group trip sponsored聽by Weihenmayer鈥檚聽nonprofit, No聽Barriers, which聽hiked the 26-mile聽Inca Trail to the top聽of Machu Picchu.聽The next year he聽joined No Barriers again, this time聽to summit 19,341 feet to the top of聽Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest聽mountain in Africa.

鈥淲hat I respect most of all about聽[Kyle] is his ability to set goals,聽achieve them and set new ones so he聽never gets comfortable,鈥� Steve says.

Coon鈥檚 parents always encouraged聽him and his sisters to be active and聽enjoy the outdoors. Before he lost his聽sight, his family took a trip to a dude聽ranch in Montana. During that time,聽he developed some of his most vivid聽visual memories, taking in leaves聽changing colors with the season and the sight of snow-capped mountains for the first time. Over the years,聽Coon has returned to mountains for聽family hiking and camping trips.

鈥淕rowing up in an athletic family聽made me who I am today,鈥� Coon聽says. 鈥淢y sisters and I were all super聽competitive with each other, so we聽loved finding out who was the best聽climber amongst us.鈥�

In 2010, Coon started on a new聽journey as a first-year student聽studying communications at 激情快播.聽He dedicated himself to wrestling聽and worked as a group exercise聽instructor at the Recreation and聽Wellness Center before completing聽his degree only three years later.聽Despite his involvement and being a聽strong writer, he struggled to find a聽job after graduation. Within a year,聽he interviewed for more than 30 jobs聽without a single offer because he says聽employers questioned his abilities.

Frustrated, he took up running聽and searched for a guide through聽the C Different organization, which聽pairs blind athletes with guides in聽their area.

鈥淎s an adult totally blind person聽I definitely think I do have a bit of聽a chip on my shoulder just because聽there are a lot of people out there聽who still aren鈥檛 aware of the聽capabilities of people who are blind聽and visually impaired,鈥� says Coon,聽who keeps his communication skills聽sharp as a motivational speaker聽and by writing for his blog. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a聽lot harder for someone like me聽to find a full-time job in an office聽environment than to do an Ironman聽Triathlon.鈥�

In the summer of 2014, he was聽paired with guide Mike Melton,聽an emergency room doctor. At the聽time, Melton was preparing for the聽Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, one of聽the most difficult one-day sporting聽events in the world, which challenges聽participants to swim 2.4 miles,聽bike 112 miles and run a marathon聽without any breaks in under 17 hours.聽With race day three months away, he聽invited Coon to join him on his runs.聽Tethered together using a 2.5-foot聽rope and with Melton calling out聽objects to avoid, they began finding聽their rhythm. After they completed a聽few half and full marathons together,聽Coon progressed so much that聽Melton suggested he try triathlons聽himself. He was shaping up to be a聽fairly good runner, and he had ridden聽tandem bikes with his father since he聽was a kid. The real challenge would聽be learning to swim.

Coon learned to swim in a 25-yard聽lap pool using lane guides to stay聽on track. During his first session,聽he couldn鈥檛 even make it to the end.聽It would take a few months before聽he could swim 1,000 yards without聽stopping. Eventually though, Coon聽developed enough skill to complete聽his first half and full Ironman races聽with Melton in 2016. Since then, he鈥檚聽gone on to complete 18 triathlons.聽And in 2018, he set the record for聽the first blind person to complete聽an Ironman in under 11 hours 鈥斅爉ore than 90 minutes faster than聽the average time it takes a sighted聽competitor to complete the race.

But in order to reach his goals,聽Coon knows he has to perform even better. He鈥檚 constantly working聽toward becoming a stronger聽swimmer. Completing fast swim聽times during lengthy practices is聽difficult, but race day swims will聽always be more challenging since聽they鈥檙e in open water. Tethered by a聽bungee cord wrapped around their聽thighs, Coon and his guide must聽work together to beat the clock and聽their competitors. Using cues such聽as shoulder taps and rib pokes, the聽duo must be great at communicating聽nonverbally with one another,聽something Coon has achieved with聽his current guide, Zack Goodman.

Coon and Goodman met in聽January 2018 at Camp No Sight No聽Limits, a high-performance training聽experience for athletes who are聽blind. The camp is based in San聽Diego, where Goodman is a doctoral聽student. Shortly before October聽2018, Coon was planning to race the聽Sarasota-Bradenton Paratriathlon聽World Cup, but none of his usual聽guides could make it. Although he聽hadn鈥檛 worked with Goodman before,聽they had become friends and Coon聽decided to ask him to pair up.

With only a few days before the聽race to train together, Goodman and聽Coon took second, with the fastest聽time on the bike and one of the聽fastest runs of the day.

During their third and most聽recent race together, Coon was the聽only American to medal, earning聽bronze, at the Milan race for the聽World Paratriathlon Series. The聽accomplishment was surprising聽considering he was the lowest-ranked聽athlete in the race. He聽completed his fastest 5K, swim聽and the second-fastest bike聽session of the race, falling聽just 57 seconds short of聽silver medalist and ITU鈥檚聽No. 1 visually impaired聽triathlete, Dave Ellis聽from Great Britain.

With Coon living in Colorado and聽Goodman in California, they don鈥檛聽get a lot of time to train together,聽which is typical for blind athletes and聽their guides 鈥� some partners don鈥檛聽get together until race day. But Coon聽and his guide speak frequently and聽keep tabs on each other鈥檚 progress聽through performance tracking聽apps. The standards Coon has for聽himself are pretty high, but he says聽he expects even more from his guide.聽They鈥檝e got to be able to do more聽than keep up the pace to properly聽guide.

鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges is聽finding someone who is significantly聽stronger than you. My rule of thumb聽is on my guide鈥檚 worst day, they need聽to be 10 percent faster than me on my聽best day,鈥� Coon says.

Goodman is striving to meet聽Coon鈥檚 standards and plans to聽continue guiding him through聽the qualifying races during the聽next year. He even spent a couple聽weeks working with his partner at聽the training center. However, he聽recognizes there鈥檚 a possibility that聽Coon might eventually outpace him.

鈥淚鈥檝e never seen someone push聽themselves quite like Kyle pushes聽himself. I think that鈥檚 why it鈥檚聽so much fun working with him,鈥澛燝oodman says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 done all these聽amazing feats that most sighted聽people probably can only dream of聽accomplishing in a lifetime.鈥�

Coon鈥檚 Olympic Training Center聽coach Derick Williamson says聽it鈥檚 been incredible to witness his聽progress. Early on, Coon鈥檚 biggest聽mistake was pacing. Coon had a聽tendency to start out too hard on聽each run, bike and swim, leaving him聽burned out before he could complete聽his workouts.

鈥淛ust a couple months into聽training and I鈥檝e already seen big聽improvements across the board.聽He鈥檚 a really talented runner. I don鈥檛聽think he鈥檚 even come close to what聽he鈥檚 capable of,鈥� Williamson says.聽鈥淗e鈥檚 learned to listen to his body,聽breathing and stride to know how聽to much more effectively push聽through the entire session.鈥�

For now, Coon鈥檚 own sense of聽motivation and dedication is stronger聽than ever as he continues to step up聽his training and compete against the聽toughest opponents he鈥檚 ever had聽to face in increasingly high-profile聽races. With each workout and race聽completed, he鈥檚 focused on 2020.聽But if he doesn鈥檛 make it, he鈥檒l push聽himself harder to make it to the 2024聽Paralympic race.

鈥淪ome people say I just like to聽suffer, and they鈥檙e probably not too聽far from the truth,鈥� Coon says. 鈥淚 just聽love a challenge. I love pushing my聽mind and body to find the edge of聽my ability. I like seeing how much聽further I can push beyond my limits聽to improve.鈥�

PHOTOS BY JONATHAN CHAVES