{"id":16694,"date":"2019-07-02T14:37:46","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T14:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=16694&post_type=story"},"modified":"2023-11-20T20:26:17","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T20:26:17","slug":"life-without-limits","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/life-without-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Without Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"
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[photo id=”16953″ title=”KyleCoon-Blue-Stars” alt=”three small blue stars” position=”center” width=”72px”][\/photo]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Summer 2019 | By\u00a0Nicole Dudenhoefer\u00a0\u201917<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

At 7:30 a.m. every weekday, Kyle Coon \u201913<\/strong> begins his first of potentially four workouts for the day \u2014 a\u00a04,000-meter swim. Next, he\u2019ll run or bike for 90 minutes.\u00a0And then, depending on the day, he\u2019ll push through some\u00a0more cardio and strength and conditioning sessions. On weekends he\u2019ll complete one workout each day, either a\u00a0long run or bike ride outdoors.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s followed the same routine without stop since\u00a0January, when he became a resident at the Olympic\u00a0Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Although\u00a0the demands are high, Coon, a triathlete, knows they\u2019re\u00a0necessary to accomplish his goal of qualifying for the\u00a02020 Paralympics in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor and privilege to be here at a facility\u00a0where some of the greatest Olympic athletes have\u00a0trained,\u201d says Coon. \u201cThey only invite athletes that they\u00a0think have a chance of making it to the Olympics or\u00a0Paralympics, so it means a lot to me to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to make it to the 2020 Paralympics, Coon\u00a0must put forth his best efforts in as many high-profile\u00a0races as possible during a yearlong qualification period,\u00a0which started June 28.<\/p>\n

[photo id=”16945″ title=”Kyle-Coon-Swimming-445×300″ alt=”kyle coon swimming” position=”left” width=”445px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”16946″ title=”Kyle-Coon-Snowtrek-445×300″ alt=”kyle coon snowtrek” position=”left” width=”445px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Only one visually impaired man and woman who earn\u00a0the highest rankings by the International Triathlon\u00a0Union\u2019s standards will represent Team USA. This\u00a0feat will require consistently high levels of athletic\u00a0performance, but pushing\u00a0himself to the edge of his\u00a0capabilities has always come\u00a0naturally for Coon.<\/p>\n

At the time of publication,\u00a0Coon is ranked No. 18 in the\u00a0world among ITU\u2019s visually\u00a0impaired triathletes.\u00a0In the U.S., his biggest\u00a0competition for making the\u00a0Paralympic team is ITU\u2019s\u00a0No. 2 visually impaired\u00a0athlete Aaron Scheidies,\u00a0an 11-time world champion\u00a0who competed in the 2016\u00a0Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. In March, Coon\u00a0trailed Scheidies by less than 2 minutes to earn second\u00a0place in the Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Paratriathlon\u00a0American Championships. But Coon isn\u2019t too worried.\u00a0One workout and one race at a time, he\u2019s steadily working\u00a0to close the gap with Scheidies.<\/p>\n

Although his schedule is demanding, Coon enjoys\u00a0having a strict routine. Having lost his sight as a child,\u00a0Coon can\u2019t be spontaneous, not even for something as\u00a0routine as a trip to a coffee shop or grocery store. For the\u00a0most part, he knows what he\u2019ll be doing for the next 24\u00a0hours. Life has demanded he develop a keen sense\u00a0of foresight.<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”16957″ title=”KyleCoon-Gold-Stars” alt=”kyle coon gold stars” position=”center” width=”72px”][\/photo]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

At 10 months old, Coon was\u00a0diagnosed with bilateral sporadic\u00a0retinoblastoma, the most common\u00a0form of eye cancer for children.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would spend weeks in the\u00a0hospital for chemotherapy sessions.\u00a0At one point Kyle had 16 tumors in\u00a0one eye and 10 in another,\u201d says Steve\u00a0Coon, Kyle\u2019s father. \u201cFor my wife and\u00a0I, those were some of the darkest\u00a0days of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time he turned 7, both\u00a0of his eyes had been surgically\u00a0removed. Coon was an active child\u00a0who remembers riding his bike,\u00a0rollerblading and playing basketball.\u00a0When his eyes were removed,\u00a0he wondered if he would be able\u00a0to resume his usual activities and\u00a0how he would simply function in\u00a0everyday life.<\/p>\n

But shortly after, Coon\u2019s\u00a0father introduced him to Erik\u00a0Weihenmayer, a blind extreme\u00a0athlete who lists downhill skiing,\u00a0skydiving and being the first blind\u00a0person to summit Mount Everest\u00a0among his accomplishments. It was\u00a0the first time Coon met an adult\u00a0who was blind, providing him an\u00a0idea of what was\u00a0possible for his own\u00a0life. Weihenmayer\u00a0encouraged Coon to\u00a0envision life without\u00a0limits and suggested\u00a0he try rock climbing.<\/p>\n

Coon\u2019s parents\u00a0encouraged his\u00a0desire to reach new\u00a0heights. At 14, he\u00a0participated in a\u00a0group trip sponsored\u00a0by Weihenmayer\u2019s\u00a0nonprofit, No\u00a0Barriers, which\u00a0hiked the 26-mile\u00a0Inca Trail to the top\u00a0of Machu Picchu.\u00a0The next year he\u00a0joined No Barriers again, this time\u00a0to summit 19,341 feet to the top of\u00a0Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest\u00a0mountain in Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I respect most of all about\u00a0[Kyle] is his ability to set goals,\u00a0achieve them and set new ones so he\u00a0never gets comfortable,\u201d Steve says.<\/p>\n

[callout background=”#e02e22″ content_align=”left” affix=”false” css_class=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of people out there who still aren\u2019t aware of the capabilities of people who are blind and visually impaired.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle Coon ’13<\/strong>, blind triathlete<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/callout]<\/p>\n

Coon\u2019s parents always encouraged\u00a0him and his sisters to be active and\u00a0enjoy the outdoors. Before he lost his\u00a0sight, his family took a trip to a dude\u00a0ranch in Montana. During that time,\u00a0he developed some of his most vivid\u00a0visual memories, taking in leaves\u00a0changing colors with the season and the sight of snow-capped mountains for the first time. Over the years,\u00a0Coon has returned to mountains for\u00a0family hiking and camping trips.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in an athletic family\u00a0made me who I am today,\u201d Coon\u00a0says. \u201cMy sisters and I were all super\u00a0competitive with each other, so we\u00a0loved finding out who was the best\u00a0climber amongst us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”16961″ title=”KyleCoon-Red-Stars” alt=”” position=”center” width=”72px”][\/photo]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 2010, Coon started on a new\u00a0journey as a first-year student\u00a0studying communications at 麻豆原创<\/a>.\u00a0He dedicated himself to wrestling\u00a0and worked as a group exercise\u00a0instructor at the Recreation and\u00a0Wellness Center before completing\u00a0his degree only three years later.\u00a0Despite his involvement and being a\u00a0strong writer, he struggled to find a\u00a0job after graduation. Within a year,\u00a0he interviewed for more than 30 jobs\u00a0without a single offer because he says\u00a0employers questioned his abilities.<\/p>\n

Frustrated, he took up running\u00a0and searched for a guide through\u00a0the C Different organization, which\u00a0pairs blind athletes with guides in\u00a0their area.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an adult totally blind person\u00a0I definitely think I do have a bit of\u00a0a chip on my shoulder just because\u00a0there are a lot of people out there\u00a0who still aren\u2019t aware of the\u00a0capabilities of people who are blind\u00a0and visually impaired,\u201d says Coon,\u00a0who keeps his communication skills\u00a0sharp as a motivational speaker\u00a0and by writing for his blog. \u201cIt\u2019s a\u00a0lot harder for someone like me\u00a0to find a full-time job in an office\u00a0environment than to do an Ironman\u00a0Triathlon.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the summer of 2014, he was\u00a0paired with guide Mike Melton,\u00a0an emergency room doctor. At the\u00a0time, Melton was preparing for the\u00a0Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, one of\u00a0the most difficult one-day sporting\u00a0events in the world, which challenges\u00a0participants to swim 2.4 miles,\u00a0bike 112 miles and run a marathon\u00a0without any breaks in under 17 hours.\u00a0With race day three months away, he\u00a0invited Coon to join him on his runs.\u00a0Tethered together using a 2.5-foot\u00a0rope and with Melton calling out\u00a0objects to avoid, they began finding\u00a0their rhythm. After they completed a\u00a0few half and full marathons together,\u00a0Coon progressed so much that\u00a0Melton suggested he try triathlons\u00a0himself. He was shaping up to be a\u00a0fairly good runner, and he had ridden\u00a0tandem bikes with his father since he\u00a0was a kid. The real challenge would\u00a0be learning to swim.<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”16953″ title=”KyleCoon-Blue-Stars” alt=”” position=”center” width=”72px”][\/photo]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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[photo id=”16971″ title=”Kyle-Coon-wDog-250px” alt=”” position=”right” width=”250px”][\/photo][photo id=”16970″ title=”Kyle-Coon-Younger-250px” alt=”” position=”right” width=”250px”][\/photo]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Coon learned to swim in a 25-yard\u00a0lap pool using lane guides to stay\u00a0on track. During his first session,\u00a0he couldn\u2019t even make it to the end.\u00a0It would take a few months before\u00a0he could swim 1,000 yards without\u00a0stopping. Eventually though, Coon\u00a0developed enough skill to complete\u00a0his first half and full Ironman races\u00a0with Melton in 2016. Since then, he\u2019s\u00a0gone on to complete 18 triathlons.\u00a0And in 2018, he set the record for\u00a0the first blind person to complete\u00a0an Ironman in under 11 hours \u2014\u00a0more than 90 minutes faster than\u00a0the average time it takes a sighted\u00a0competitor to complete the race.<\/p>\n

But in order to reach his goals,\u00a0Coon knows he has to perform even better. He\u2019s constantly working\u00a0toward becoming a stronger\u00a0swimmer. Completing fast swim\u00a0times during lengthy practices is\u00a0difficult, but race day swims will\u00a0always be more challenging since\u00a0they\u2019re in open water. Tethered by a\u00a0bungee cord wrapped around their\u00a0thighs, Coon and his guide must\u00a0work together to beat the clock and\u00a0their competitors. Using cues such\u00a0as shoulder taps and rib pokes, the\u00a0duo must be great at communicating\u00a0nonverbally with one another,\u00a0something Coon has achieved with\u00a0his current guide, Zack Goodman.<\/p>\n

Coon and Goodman met in\u00a0January 2018 at Camp No Sight No\u00a0Limits, a high-performance training\u00a0experience for athletes who are\u00a0blind. The camp is based in San\u00a0Diego, where Goodman is a doctoral\u00a0student. Shortly before October\u00a02018, Coon was planning to race the\u00a0Sarasota-Bradenton Paratriathlon\u00a0World Cup, but none of his usual\u00a0guides could make it. Although he\u00a0hadn\u2019t worked with Goodman before,\u00a0they had become friends and Coon\u00a0decided to ask him to pair up.<\/p>\n

With only a few days before the\u00a0race to train together, Goodman and\u00a0Coon took second, with the fastest\u00a0time on the bike and one of the\u00a0fastest runs of the day.<\/p>\n

During their third and most\u00a0recent race together, Coon was the\u00a0only American to medal, earning\u00a0bronze, at the Milan race for the\u00a0World Paratriathlon Series. The\u00a0accomplishment was surprising\u00a0considering he was the lowest-ranked\u00a0athlete in the race. He\u00a0completed his fastest 5K, swim\u00a0and the second-fastest bike\u00a0session of the race, falling\u00a0just 57 seconds short of\u00a0silver medalist and ITU\u2019s\u00a0No. 1 visually impaired\u00a0triathlete, Dave Ellis\u00a0from Great Britain.<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”16957″ title=”KyleCoon-Gold-Stars” alt=”” position=”center” width=”72px”][\/photo]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

With Coon living in Colorado and\u00a0Goodman in California, they don\u2019t\u00a0get a lot of time to train together,\u00a0which is typical for blind athletes and\u00a0their guides \u2014 some partners don\u2019t\u00a0get together until race day. But Coon\u00a0and his guide speak frequently and\u00a0keep tabs on each other\u2019s progress\u00a0through performance tracking\u00a0apps. The standards Coon has for\u00a0himself are pretty high, but he says\u00a0he expects even more from his guide.\u00a0They\u2019ve got to be able to do more\u00a0than keep up the pace to properly\u00a0guide.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest challenges is\u00a0finding someone who is significantly\u00a0stronger than you. My rule of thumb\u00a0is on my guide\u2019s worst day, they need\u00a0to be 10 percent faster than me on my\u00a0best day,\u201d Coon says.<\/p>\n

Goodman is striving to meet\u00a0Coon\u2019s standards and plans to\u00a0continue guiding him through\u00a0the qualifying races during the\u00a0next year. He even spent a couple\u00a0weeks working with his partner at\u00a0the training center. However, he\u00a0recognizes there\u2019s a possibility that\u00a0Coon might eventually outpace him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen someone push\u00a0themselves quite like Kyle pushes\u00a0himself. I think that\u2019s why it\u2019s\u00a0so much fun working with him,\u201d\u00a0Goodman says. \u201cHe\u2019s done all these\u00a0amazing feats that most sighted\u00a0people probably can only dream of\u00a0accomplishing in a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coon\u2019s Olympic Training Center\u00a0coach Derick Williamson says\u00a0it\u2019s been incredible to witness his\u00a0progress. Early on, Coon\u2019s biggest\u00a0mistake was pacing. Coon had a\u00a0tendency to start out too hard on\u00a0each run, bike and swim, leaving him\u00a0burned out before he could complete\u00a0his workouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a couple months into\u00a0training and I\u2019ve already seen big\u00a0improvements across the board.\u00a0He\u2019s a really talented runner. I don\u2019t\u00a0think he\u2019s even come close to what\u00a0he\u2019s capable of,\u201d Williamson says.\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s learned to listen to his body,\u00a0breathing and stride to know how\u00a0to much more effectively push\u00a0through the entire session.\u201d<\/p>\n

[photo id=”16975″ title=”Kyle-Coon-Bike-Web” alt=”” position=”right” width=”100%” css_class=”img-responsive”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

For now, Coon\u2019s own sense of\u00a0motivation and dedication is stronger\u00a0than ever as he continues to step up\u00a0his training and compete against the\u00a0toughest opponents he\u2019s ever had\u00a0to face in increasingly high-profile\u00a0races. With each workout and race\u00a0completed, he\u2019s focused on 2020.\u00a0But if he doesn\u2019t make it, he\u2019ll push\u00a0himself harder to make it to the 2024\u00a0Paralympic race.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people say I just like to\u00a0suffer, and they\u2019re probably not too\u00a0far from the truth,\u201d Coon says. \u201cI just\u00a0love a challenge. I love pushing my\u00a0mind and body to find the edge of\u00a0my ability. I like seeing how much\u00a0further I can push beyond my limits\u00a0to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

PHOTOS BY JONATHAN CHAVES<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16761,"template":"","categories":[977],"tags":[248,287,764],"class_list":["post-16694","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-recreation-and-wellness-center","issues-1348","issues-summer-2019"],"yoast_head":"\nKyle Coon: A Blind Triathlete's Race to the 2020 Paralympics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After a lifetime as a competitive athlete, 麻豆原创 communications grad and paratriathlete Kyle Coon is taking on his toughest challenge yet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/life-without-limits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life Without 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