Kyle Coon

Started: He took up endurance sports in 2014, including marathon and triathlon. (kylecoon.com, 17 Jun 2021; teamusa.org, 15 Apr 2021) Reason: "Sometime in 2014, I woke up and thought, 'My life is a mess, I can't get a job, and I need to do something to turn my life around'. I had gained a bunch of weight after being an athlete in college, and I didn't have money to join a gym or buy gym equipment that I could put in my house. I had never really liked swimming or running, but running was one of the things I could do cheaply and easily. I just needed a pair of shoes and could head out the door if someone guided me. That led to meeting my good friend Mike Melton, who steered me in the direction of triathlon and who taught me almost everything I know about the sport. I just fell in love with the complexity and simplicity of triathlon." (teamusa.org, 15 Apr 2021; independencerunandhike.com, 23 Oct 2018) Ambition: To win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (One At A Time YouTube channel, 21 May 2024) Additional Info: MOVE TO COLORADO SPRINGS In January 2019 he moved to the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America, as a resident athlete. "While not a Colorado native, Colorado has been my permanent home since 2016 and it's been where my heart calls home since I first visited to learn to ski in the early to mid 2000s. From 2016 to 2018 I lived in Carbondale, just down the valley from Aspen. In August 2018 the International Paralympic Committee [IPC] announced that male visually impaired triathlon would become part of the slate of events at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. And in October I was accepted to become an official member of the USA Para Triathlon Resident Team. So in January 2019, I made the move to Colorado Springs and took up residence at the US Olympic Training Center with the goal of qualifying for the 2020 Games." (USA Para Triathlon Resident Team Instagram profile, 03 Sep 2023; 303triathlon.com, 13 Feb 2019) ROCK CLIMBING A few months after his right eye was removed in October 1998, he was visited by US mountaineer and rock climber Erik Weihenmayer, who had also lost his sight. "He was a rock climber, sky diver, downhill skier, and did all kinds of stuff I'd never heard of or thought was possible for anyone to do, let alone a blind guy. The only experience I'd had with other blind people were the handful of visually impaired kids at my elementary school. I'd never really interacted with any adult blind people. He was talking to me like I was an equal, like he knew the struggles I was having adapting. When we parted ways Erik told me to not be afraid to live and be a kid. He told me to give rock climbing a try and that he'd always be there if I needed a friend. Less than two years later, my sisters and I were top ranked competitive rock climbers. In 2004, I learned to downhill ski. In 2006, I accompanied Erik and a team of visually impaired and sighted students from across the US to hike the Ancascocha Trail into Machu Picchu [in Peru]. In 2007, I joined up again to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa." (One At A Time YouTube channel, 21 May 2024; fox21news.com, 03 Mar 2021; 303triathlon.com, 13 Feb 2019; independencerunandhike.com, 23 Oct 2018; orlandosentinel.com, 26 May 2016) BOOK In 2021 he released his autobiography 'Discovering a Life Without Limits'. (Andy Potts Facebook page, 07 Aug 2021; catchstory.co.in, 14 Jun 2021) OTHER ACTIVITIES In October 2022 he was elected to the USA Triathlon Athletes' Advisory Council. In January 2021 he was appointed programme and safe sport coordinator for the United States Association of Blind Athletes [USABA]. As part of the role, he helps to plan and implement logistical management for USABA events and programmes. "I'm incredibly excited, humbled and honoured to join the USABA team. Having been totally blind much of my life I recognise the critical role sports, recreation and physical activity play in the life of someone who is blind or visually impaired." (endurance.biz, 24 Oct 2022; USABA Facebook page, 05 Aug 2021; usaba.org, 20 Jan 2021)

Sporting Relatives: His partner Jessica Tuomela represented Canada in swimming at three editions of the Paralympic Games between 2000 and 2008, winning silver in the S11 50m freestyle at the 2000 Games in Sydney. She also competed in triathlon at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 28 Nov 2023; Instagram profile, 25 Nov 2023; saanichnews.com, 23 May 2023)