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Summer 2019 | By聽Nicole Dudenhoefer聽 麻豆精品 S�17

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

He 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檙e聽necessary to accomplish his goal of qualifying for the聽2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 an honor and privilege to be here at a facility聽where some of the greatest Olympic athletes have聽trained, 麻豆精品 S� says Coon. 麻豆精品 S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. 麻豆精品 S�

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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檚 visually聽impaired triathletes.聽In the U.S., his biggest聽competition for making the聽Paralympic team is ITU 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檛 too worried.聽One workout and one race at a time, he 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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.

麻豆精品 S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, 麻豆精品 S� says Steve聽Coon, Kyle 麻豆精品 S檚 father. 麻豆精品 S淔or my wife and聽I, those were some of the darkest聽days of our lives. 麻豆精品 S�

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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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.

麻豆精品 S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, 麻豆精品 S� Steve says.

Coon 麻豆精品 S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.

麻豆精品 S淕rowing up in an athletic family聽made me who I am today, 麻豆精品 S� Coon聽says. 麻豆精品 S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. 麻豆精品 S�

In 2010, Coon started on a new聽journey as a first-year student聽studying communications at UCF.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.

麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檛 aware of the聽capabilities of people who are blind聽and visually impaired, 麻豆精品 S� says Coon,聽who keeps his communication skills聽sharp as a motivational speaker聽and by writing for his blog. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S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. 麻豆精品 S�

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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檛聽get a lot of time to train together,聽which is typical for blind athletes and聽their guides 麻豆精品 S� some partners don 麻豆精品 S檛聽get together until race day. But Coon聽and his guide speak frequently and聽keep tabs on each other 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檝e got to be able to do more聽than keep up the pace to properly聽guide.

麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檚 worst day, they need聽to be 10 percent faster than me on my聽best day, 麻豆精品 S� Coon says.

Goodman is striving to meet聽Coon 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檚 a possibility that聽Coon might eventually outpace him.

麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e never seen someone push聽themselves quite like Kyle pushes聽himself. I think that 麻豆精品 S檚 why it 麻豆精品 S檚聽so much fun working with him, 麻豆精品 S澛燝oodman says. 麻豆精品 S淗e 麻豆精品 S檚 done all these聽amazing feats that most sighted聽people probably can only dream of聽accomplishing in a lifetime. 麻豆精品 S�

Coon 麻豆精品 S檚 Olympic Training Center聽coach Derick Williamson says聽it 麻豆精品 S檚 been incredible to witness his聽progress. Early on, Coon 麻豆精品 S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.

麻豆精品 S淛ust a couple months into聽training and I 麻豆精品 S檝e already seen big聽improvements across the board.聽He 麻豆精品 S檚 a really talented runner. I don 麻豆精品 S檛聽think he 麻豆精品 S檚 even come close to what聽he 麻豆精品 S檚 capable of, 麻豆精品 S� Williamson says.聽 麻豆精品 S淗e 麻豆精品 S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. 麻豆精品 S�

For now, Coon 麻豆精品 S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 麻豆精品 S檚 ever had聽to face in increasingly high-profile聽races. With each workout and race聽completed, he 麻豆精品 S檚 focused on 2020.聽But if he doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 make it, he 麻豆精品 S檒l push聽himself harder to make it to the 2024聽Paralympic race.

麻豆精品 S淪ome people say I just like to聽suffer, and they 麻豆精品 S檙e probably not too聽far from the truth, 麻豆精品 S� Coon says. 麻豆精品 S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. 麻豆精品 S�

PHOTOS BY JONATHAN CHAVES