Emi Perry used to be a runner. Then she broke her spine. And now? She’s a triathlete, preparing to make her Sept. 2 debut at the Paralympics in Paris.
What happened in the seven years between is a testament to her strength and resilience.
“I definitely had an identity crisis, and it wasn’t until then that I realized how important that identity was for me,” she tells Fortune about being a runner. “And I think that’s where being introduced to adaptive sports so early on was really helpful for me to get that identity as an athlete back. Even though the race chair is different from running, I still was able to get the sense of an athlete.”
Perry now competes in the para triathlon, where athletes race in a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike ride, and a 5K run, half the distance of the Olympic triathlon. According to the International Paralympic Committee, there are different sport classes based on how athletes compete; Perry, for example, uses a handcycle in the cycling segment and a racing wheelchair for the running segment.
The accident
In 2017, Perry fell from a ladder when she was hanging out on a rooftop with friends. She doesn’t remember much after that, until the moment when she asked her uncle in the ICU if she would be able to walk again. He couldn’t give her an answer.
The injury she had sustained was a T12 spinal cord break, which damages the connection between the brain and the legs. Perry had gone to college on a running scholarship, so after the injury, she immediately wanted to find a rehab facility for athletes. She wound up at Jefferson Moss-Magee in Philadelphia.
“I was kind of optimistic for the first couple months,” Perry says. “Most people gain the function back in the first three to six months, up to a year. And then after one year, most people don’t see any more improvements.”
At first, she started to get some sensation back in her left quad. She was optimistic.
“After two months, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s it. Like, nothing’s coming back,’” she says.
‘I could have given up at any point’
When Perry’s physical therapists suggested wheelchair running, she was hesitant. “At first I was like, ‘I’m not interested,’” she says. All she wanted to do was be able to walk and run again.
Before her accident, running meant mental clarity and freedom, Perry tells Fortune. She didn’t like relying on other people to help her with her wheelchair when she wanted to work out. Soon, though, she carved out a new space dedicated to time with herself, and she started to really improve at wheelchair running.
“Even though it … wasn’t the same, I still had that time when I could push my race chair,” Perry says.
Perry’s resilience kept her in the sport. Having endured an accident that took running away from her, she kept comparing wheelchair racing to running, she says. But something was better than nothing.
“I could have given up at any point, you know, and just be like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’” Perry says. “But there was something about it … I wanted to keep doing it.”
After competing in her first race, on Cape Cod, she discovered how special the wheelchair community could be.
“I was like, wow, this is kind of fun,” Perry says. “It doesn’t have to be miserable to be in the wheelchair.”
Staying mentally resilient and finding purpose
As Perry has been preparing for the Paris Paralympics, she’s stayed focused on her own process. She says that’s key to her training, rather than having tunnel vision about the outcome of her race.
“If you focus on the result … [and then] if you don’t get it, it feels like it’s a waste,” Perry says.
It can be especially difficult not to get caught in the comparison trap, as other para athletes have different strengths and abilities in the para triathlon. Some of her teammates, she says, have visual impairments but full use of their legs. For Perry, her arms are repeatedly fatigued as she uses them for all three parts of the triathlon—swimming, biking, and running.
Perry explained that during the cycling portion, “You’re … lying down and your feet [are] in the front, and then you’re pedaling with your arms in front of you,” she says. For the running race, Perry tells Fortune, she’s seated in the wheelchair and pushing the wheels to propel herself forward. She says she’s still learning how to get stronger at swimming.
“So I know in my mind that … it’s okay that I can’t do the same amount as [some of the other athletes] do, but at the same time, I want to be able to do it right,” Perry says.
When she first entered the sport, Perry was reluctant, to say the least, as her only goal was to return to running. But because she kept training and pushing through those feelings of disengagement, she has solidified her new identity as a para triathlete.
“I … remind myself that this is my choice, and that no one is forcing me to do this,” she says. “It really brought back joy and purpose in my life, so I just love the fact that I can still compete.
“It was just easier to keep doing something,” Perry says, “instead of just giving up.”
The 2024 Paris Paralympics begins on Aug. 28 and runs through Sept. 8; over 4,000 athletes will compete in 549 medal events for 22 different sports. Perry’s event will take place on Sept. 2.
More on the Paris Olympics:
- Team USA’s medical staff have their first official Olympics uniform. Here’s what they’re wearing in Paris
- Olympic gymnast Suni Lee recites this 10-word rallying cry before competing
- Why the new Olympic gymnastics leotards are $3K each—and have a record number of crystals
