MADISON, Ala. (WHNT) — A para tri-athlete from Madison is gearing up to chase her dreams of joining Team USA.
Abby Sams Dimock has been an adaptive athlete for about seven years. She started with wheelchair basketball in college, and then one day someone suggested wheelchair track.
“They introduced me, and I’ve never stopped,” she said. “I did my first triathlon in August of last year, and I was like, shoot, yeah, I’m in love with this.”
Although she’s only been doing para triathlons for a short time, Dimock has already been invited to train with an elite group of athletes.
“I’ll be going to the USA performance center to train with Team USA,” Dimock said. “I got the email on a Saturday morning, I rolled over in bed and checked my email, and I was awake immediately, like oh my gosh, this can’t be real.”
Dimock told News 19 that she’ll take part in the Talent ID program, with hopes to further pursue her para athlete journey.
She said one of the biggest challenges in her sport is the high cost of equipment, travel and event entry fees. She said one of her friends recently surprised her by making a GoFundMe to help with costs.
“I’ve had some really, really sweet people donate,” she said. “It brought me to tears, I really did not know that was happening.”
Above all, Dimock hopes to inspire other disabled athletes and educate people who aren’t as familiar with para sports.
“I think that one of the best things a person can have when approaching someone with a disability or someone doing an adaptive sport is curiosity,” she said. “I want people to come up to me and ask questions about it, I want to find more people to do these sports.”
Dimock said she’s thankful for such a supportive community as she pursues her dreams.
In addition to traveling to Team USA’s training space, she also has an upcoming triathlon in Wisconsin, and a half Iron Man in Idaho. News 19 wishes her good luck in those races!
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