I decided that I wanted to win an Olympic gold medal when Mary Lou Retton vaulted her way onto my Wheaties box in 1984. As an 8-year-old kid, it never occurred to me that having a funny right arm might make that more of a challenge.

However, an 18-year-old me decided that, despite my 4 years of Varsity swimming and an offer to swim in college, I would never make up the difference between me and an elite level swimmer with two full arms and hands.  Heartbroken, I gave up on my athletic dreams, in pursuit of other ambitions.

Little did I know that six years later, in a fateful moment, I would find the opportunity I’d always dreamed of.  Mary Lou once said, “It’s like an All-American story.  Something you read about.  Never, never did I dream it would happen to me.”  Well, Mary Lou, I did dream it would happen to me.  But never, never did I believe that it might actually come true.

Join me and the rest of Team Kelly, as we pursue the next chapters in my Olympic story: racing my bike as part of Team USA in London in 2012;   and, through my non-profit Victory Sport Project, supporting the SF Bay Area’s athletes with disabilities who want to live out their own athletic dreams.

Live the Dream • Join the Team

Thanks for your support,

Kelly

p.s. You should check out the other chapters of my story here.