Colorado Champions: Visually impaired triathlete races for Paralympic gold with Olympic guide
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Paralympians from Olympic City, USA, are walking in the Opening Ceremonies Tuesday in Tokyo, and then the competition starts.
For one local visually impaired athlete, he's racing in his first Paralympics.
"Kyle is a B1, he is completely blind, he lost his vision to cancer when he was about 7-years-old, but you would never know it," says coach Derick Williamson. "He's one of the smartest, most adaptable athletes I've ever had the pleasure to be around."
Coach Williamson says it's been inspiring to watch Kyle Coon and his guide, Andy Potts, work together. They teamed up about a year ago and they have an unspoken bond that goes beyond the verbal cues. It's a partnership Kyle feels lucky to have found in time for his first Paralympics.
"We've been growing leaps and bounds in our communication and teamwork and it's a true partnership and team sport and it's so awesome," said Coon.
Together they will swim, cycle and run in Tokyo. Bringing with them some Olympic experience. Andy is a former Olympic triathlete, competing at the Athens Summer Games in 2004.
"This is my first shot at the Paralympic Games, and it is a totally unique experience guiding Kyle," says Potts. "Kyle is a world-class athlete, I am just there to remove some of the barriers for him and be his eyes on race day and hopefully be that voice in his head as well and give him the right cues so that we can execute to the best of our ability."
Kyle and Andy compete Saturday morning in Tokyo. We'll keep you posted on how they do.
We also want to recognize two other Colorado Springs Paralympians we've done stories on in the past. These two ladies were given big honors at the Games. Rio silver medalist, Sophia Herzog, was named one of the swim team captains.
Triathlete and veteran Melissa Stockwell carried the American flag in the Opening Ceremonies this morning. The now 3-time Paralympian won bronze in Rio. This is a full-circle moment for Stockwell after she carried the flag during the Beijing Closing Ceremonies in 2008.
