US Military Endurance Sports

Kelly Elmlinger // Para-triathlon

Motto: “Take advantage of opportunities”

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic contender Kelly Elmlinger is a cancer survivor, amputee, retired Army Captain, and current USA Paratriathlon National Champion. This spring Kelly was named Paratriathlon Development Athlete of the Year by USA Triathlon, the national governing body of triathlon. “Kelly has made an immediate impact on the competitive paratriathlon scene, both in the U.S. and internationally,” said Amanda Duke Boulet, Paralympic Program Director at USA Triathlon. “From winning a national title in her second paratriathlon since becoming an amputee to earning a World Cup gold medal, Kelly continues to push her limits and demonstrate her competitive potential for the years ahead.”

When Kelly’s category was not selected for the 2020 Paralympics she had to make the tough decision to compete in the PTS5 category, against athletes who have only mild impairment. The risk paid off, and Kelly currently has the points to compete in Tokyo on Team USA, after only two seasons of competition as an amputee. “During my military career, I’ve had a passion for learning the entire processes. For me, triathlon fits my personality and mindset very well,” said Elmlinger. “Then you add in prosthetics and it makes the race a lot more fun and interesting — I love that extra challenge of switching out legs!”

Kelly, who most recently served as a surgical nurse, originally enlisted as a combat medic and deployed three times — twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. Kelly was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma (a rare soft-tissue cancer) after her three back-to-back deployments, and eventually made the decision to have her leg amputated.  “I have a very long and complicated medical history and went five years without the ability to run. It was only three weeks after getting my first multi-purpose run/walk leg when I entered a triathlon as an amputee,” said Elmlinger. “I didn’t want to waste any more time being on the sidelines.” Elmlinger’s first win of the season came in her second triathlon since becoming an amputee — the Paratriathlon National Championships in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. She went on to place fifth at the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships, then ended her season with an ITU Paratriathlon World Cup gold medal in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida. Since then, Kelly has gone “all-in” to take advantage of the opportunity to become a Paralympian. “Spending 20 years in a military uniform, it was hard to think about not representing my country in an ‘official’ uniform,” said Kelly. “Para-triathlon has allowed me to continue to ‘serve’ in a different capacity. I love my country and love representing this sport, my family name and especially, our country.”

In 2020 Kelly will competing in the ITU Para-Triathlon World Cup race series, focusing on CAMTRI in Sarasota, FL (which unfortunately overlaps with Tucson Camp), the World Championships in Milan, Italy, the ITU World Cup in Montreal, and of course the Tokyo Paralympics (pending final selection).