The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games will begin on August 28th with the paratriathletes racing in the Seine on September 1st (for athletes in the PTS2 to PTS5 categories) and 2nd (for athletes in the PTVI and PTWC categories) on the same triathlon and marathon swimming course as was held at the Summer Olympics.
Among the 120 paratriathletes scheduled to compete in the Seine, 32-year-old American Kendall Gretsch from Downers Grove, Illinois will compete in the PTWC class for athletes with impaired muscle power, athetosis, impaired passive range of movement, hypertonia, limb deficiency, ataxia, and/or vision impairment. The PTWC 1-2 classification includes wheelchair athletes with limitations in lower (PTWC2) and upper limbs (PTWC1) who uses a handcycle for the bike and a racing wheelchair for the run.
Gretsch won a gold medal in the Para Triathlon held in Tokyo Bay and the streets of Tokyo at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games in a near photo finish over Australian rival Lauren Parker, 1:06:25 to 1:06:26.
But she is also a Nordic paraskier who won two gold medals in women’s biathlon sprint and cross-country long distance at the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games in South Korea. She also became the first female American to win a gold medal in biathlon. So her Paralympic medal total includes 4 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze in 4 different sports – while working for Epic, a company that .provides health care software to hospitals and medical facilities.
Gretsch was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects the spine. She was a former age-group competitive swimmer with a positive attitude. She got into para triathlon with Dare2Tri while at a swim practice.
Dare2Tri is a non-profit organization that specializes in adaptive sports and encourages paraathletes to enjoy, race, and compete with others, cultivating a sense of community for everyone. They focus not on their physical ability, but their determination and will to succeed.
And determination and the will to succeed is what Gretsch and all her fellow paraathletes most definitely have.
But Gretsch seems to take it to a different level. Her competitive spirit is contagious. She said, “I find satisfaction in competing in both summer and winter sports because I am always in a racing season, so it forces her to maintain a competitive mindset all year.”
For more information on Gretsch and the 2024 Paris Paralympic paratriathlon, visit here. For more information on Dare2Tri, visit here.
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