Melissa Stockwell is ready to light up her fourth Paralympic Games

Melissa Stockwell will compete in her fourth Paralympics when she lines up for the triathlon in Paris on Sept. 1. She first competed in swimming at the 2008 Beijing games. She won a bronze medal as a member of the inaugural Team USA paratriathlon team in Rio. At 44 years old, the three-time world champion and four-time US champion will be one of the most experienced athletes competing. She’s still in awe of the path her life has taken.

“If you would have told me 20 years ago that there’s going to be a four-time Paralympian asterisk by my name, no way. Absolutely not. I didn’t think there’d be one time,” Stockwell says. “Never in my wildest dreams would I live this life I live today. … And none of this would have happened had I not lost my leg.”

Stockwell was the first Iraq War veteran to compete in the Paralympic Games after she lost her left leg to a roadside bomb. Since then, she has built a life around competition. She’s a motivational speaker who co-founded an organization, Dare2tri, dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with physical disabilities and visual impairments through swimming, biking and running. She and her husband co-founded their own prosthetics business, too, and they have two kids, ages 9 and 6.

You may have guessed (correctly) that Stockwell is busy as hell. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Every minute of the day is accounted for,” Stockwell says. “I don’t have some of the luxuries that my teammates do. They’re getting ready for a bike ride, but I can’t do it because I have to go pick my kids up. I have to get all my workouts in between 8:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., because then I gotta put on my mom hat and go be mom. And I don’t have the luxury of having hours between workouts to let the body rest.”

To qualify for the Paralympics, Stockwell had to put together “the race of my life” in Miami this past March, where she won the Americas Triathlon Para Championship just ahead of two other Americans, Hailey Danz and Allysa Seely, who stood with her on the Rio podium in 2016. Her family was by the course watching her, and they’ll be in Paris, too. Stockwell hadn’t yet started a family when her Paralympic journey began. Now her kids are old enough to appreciate their mom’s accomplishments.

“To hear, ‘Go Mommy Go,’ there’s really nothing that motivates you more at any race,” Stockwell says.

Stockwell spoke with the Trek Race Shop about what triathlon has meant to her, what she’s looking forward to at her fourth Paralympics, and how her partnership with Trek began with a chance meeting with John Burke. The following conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Were you expecting to do as well as you did in Miami?

Melissa Stockwell: I had high hopes. So there’s two auto qualifying slots for Paris for the paratriathlon team. One of them was at World Championship last year in September, and then this race in March. I didn’t win World Championships, so I knew that March 8 was going to be a really big deal. 

I started training a lot sooner. Typically, I would go easy until early January, but because we knew March was going to be big, we started training in early November. 

And training has just been going so well. I just felt so confident going into that race. I’ve never had confidence like that. I had to beat two competitors who I have not beaten both of them in many, many years. But I had the race of my life when I needed to have it. 

The hope is that I have it again on September 1 in Paris. The swim was fast. The bike was fast. It was flat. And it was a hot day out on the run, but my run had been going really, really well, so I knew I had the run in me. It was pretty spectacular to cross the line and to know that I had solidified my spot. And my family was there. I have a six- and nine-year-old, and they were all there to watch, which made it extra, extra special.

What made you even more confident heading into competition?

I’m a veteran of this sport, so I think experience has something to do with it. As an athlete, you want every training session to be the best that it can be and you thrive off of that, but I think having the experience to know that not every training session is going to be great, and that’s OK, helps you keep going and progressing. 

When it comes to the swim, bike and run, the bike is the one where I had the most room for improvement. I got the new bike in November, and the fit is drastically different than my other one, but that has helped so much with being able to stay in aero, and being able to produce more power than I ever have. And that helps me mentally, because I’m seeing the numbers, and that they’re just better than they have been.

The other two people on that podium were also with you on the podium at the 2016 Paralympics. What’s it like racing these same really strong competitors year after year? How does that affect the racing dynamic?

Stockwell: It’s an interesting one, because we’ve all raced together for years and years, so we know what each other does well, and what each other doesn’t do well. Like I know that my teammate Hailey [Danz] is incredibly strong on the bike. I know if I can get off the bike within a certain time of another competitor on the run, I might have a chance of beating her. So we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so well, and honestly, I can look at my competitors and know if they’re slowing down and if they’re hurting. I can tell just by the way that they’re running because we’ve been doing it for so long. 

It’s an interesting dynamic because you can see it and you feel it, and if you’re having a good day you can capitalize on it. But if I’m not having a good day, I know that they know that about me also. There’s really no hiding because we just know each other that well. 

How long have you been partnering with Trek, and how did that relationship start?

Stockwell: Oh, gosh, I raced with Trek in 2016. I got my first bike in 2014 or 2015. So I met John Burke at the W100k, The George W. Bush mountain bike ride that he did for wounded veterans. It was probably 2012 or ’13. He knew I was a triathlete and going for the Paralympic Games in Rio, and we connected. He offered Trek to help me out with a bike, and since then I’ve loved being part of the team.

How has Trek continued to support you?

Stockwell: I’ve been fortunate to receive a few different bikes, and I’ve raced them all on the biggest stages. It’s a huge help to just not have to worry about a bike and I’m able to connect with Mark [Andrews] in the Race Shop. He knows my measurements and is always able to help. It makes it seamless to be able to have that support.

How have you prepared for Paris?

So I don’t have to do any races, but I will. There was a race in Yokohama in May but I had a mom conflict and I couldn’t change it. The whole balance can be tricky sometimes. But I went to a World Triathlon Para Series race in Montreal at the end of June and took fourth. And then I did a small, local race, but really it’s all about Paris on September 1.

I have a nonprofit called Dare2tri to get athletes with disabilities into the sport of triathlon. We have a military camp that I go to, and I help coach all our athletes. So I’ll go coach and then do that race as a local fun race.

Earlier you mentioned managing the balance. You have a number of initiatives that you’re doing. You and your husband have a prosthetics business. And of course you have a family with two children. How hard has it been training outside of everything else that you’re trying to do? Just how busy are you?

Stockwell: I mean, busy [laughs]. I just got done with my training session, at 2:30 I gotta go pick my kids up and then bring my daughter to dance and my son to soccer. It’s busy. Like, it’s super busy. 

I have an incredibly supportive husband, we’re a team, I couldn’t do it without him. And I mean, every minute of the day is accounted for. I don’t have some of the luxuries that my teammates do. They’re getting ready for a bike ride, but I can’t do it because I have to go pick my kids up. I have to get all my workouts in between 8:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., because then I gotta put on my mom hat and go be mom. And I don’t have the luxury of having hours between workouts to let the body rest. 

But I love it. They’re busy days, but I feel like I get to wake up and do what I love every day. We do have a prosthetics business here in Colorado Springs. We fit other amputees with artificial limbs. My husband is there every day. I’m there when I can be, but training is the priority along with the kids. So it’s a juggle, but we make it work and I’m pretty lucky.

You mentioned having your kids, nine and six years old, in Miami. It feels like this will be the first of your Paralympic trips where they’ll be old enough to really appreciate what you’re doing. What does that mean to you to have them be able to watch you compete on the world stage and comprehend that?

Stockwell: I said I was going to retire after 2016, and then I went to Tokyo. And then I said, ‘OK, after Tokyo I’m gonna retire,’ and here I am, going to Paris. But I feel like a driving factor is, No. 1, I still love this sport, and I’m still competitive at it. But like you said, my kids are old enough now. They get it. They were in Miami, and they knew that if I crossed the finish line first then we’re all going to Paris. They know that mommy swims, bikes and runs all the time, but for them to see it, it helps them process it even more. 

I hope that they appreciate it, and I’m sure they’ll remember it. But for them to be there, and I mean even just around the corner to hear, ‘Go Mommy Go,’ there’s really nothing that motivates you more at any race, but especially one that big.

You’ve done the Paralympics three times now. So what are you most looking forward to at the fourth?

Stockwell: I’m very much a patriot. I love our country. So putting on that Team USA uniform is a favorite. My teammates, they drive me. Being at a racecourse with my teammates and cheering each other on, or hearing them from the stands if they’re not racing that day, is huge, because we’re in it together every single day. 

I’m 44. I’m a mother of two and I’m one of the older athletes in my field. So I’m out to show that age doesn’t matter. You can be a mom and you can still be an elite athlete. You can do it.

With that, what are your thoughts on trying for a Paralympics? 

Stockwell: I mean, if you asked my husband, he’s like, ‘I don’t believe it until it’s done.’ We’ll see how Paris goes. 

There are days where I’m like, ‘No.’ And there is sacrifice. You do give up moments with the kids when I’m traveling and I’m racing and all of that. But I mean, it’s in LA. It’s on home soil. 

The body has to hold up, and I need to still love the sport. I would never do it if I didn’t love it. So we’ll see. There’s too much time and effort that goes into it to do that. So hopefully that love continues. And I mean, never say never. I think we’ll get through Paris and then we’ll see how it looks.

My last question is about how you reflect on this journey. You went to your first Paralympics in 2008. Did you think at that time that 16 years later, you’d still be on that stage and that this would be your path?

Stockwell: Oh gosh no. If you would have told me 20 years ago that there’s going to be a four-time Paralympian asterisk by my name, no way. Absolutely not. I didn’t think there’d be one time. Never in my wildest dreams would I live this life I live today. And it hasn’t come with nothing. There’s obviously work that goes into it. But I truly enjoy it. I wake up every morning just grateful for all it’s brought. And none of this would have happened had I not lost my leg. This year is the 20-year anniversary of the year I lost my leg. It’s a big celebration of the life that we have.