Ryan Levinson-A challenged Athletes Story
AWA H2O Responder Member will be competing at this year's 2009 LB2CAT under the Challenged Athlete Category
When people first meet Ryan Levinson they often do not realize he is a challenged athlete. He is not missing a limb, using a wheelchair, or racing with a guide to help him see. Instead, this world-class triathlete is the first person in history to compete at a championship level despite being ravaged by FSHMD (Muscular Dystrophy), a progressive degenerative muscle wasting disease.
Ryan was diagnosed with MD in 1996 when he noticed some of his muscles rapidly disappearing. Since then, his disease has progressed to the point where he can now no longer hold his arms above his head, do a sit-up, pull-up, or push-up. He has lost major muscles in his chest, arms, back, abdominals, and legs. As his disease progresses, he may become too weak to even close his eyes or move his lips into a smile.
There is no treatment and no cure. No matter how hard Ryan trains he will continue to loose strength and ability. Yet rather than give up, Ryan continues to race with passion and he thrives on inspiring other people to do the same. His motto says it best, “You can’t always choose what happens to you, but you can choose what you do about it.”
This year alone Ryan helped develop and implement the new physically challenged divisions for off-road triathlons. He is the current chair of USA Triathlon’s Physically Challenged Rules and Logistics Subcommittee and serves as the XTERRA Physically Challenged “Ambassador.” He acts as a spokesperson for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and even makes his living as the first disabled Emergency Medical Technician to run 911 emergency calls with the San Diego Fire Department.
Over the past two years, Ryan has competed in more than 20 triathlons and bike races with 15 podium finishes. He was the 2006 XTERRA USA Champion and has twice placed 2nd at the World Championships. All the while he has lost nearly 15 pounds of muscle due to his degenerative disease. Even still, Ryan remains competitive to test himself, have fun, and demonstrate to the world that even if you have a disability that is not immediately obvious, there is a place for you in triathlon.
Ryan plans to continue racing and promoting triathlon while also helping spearhead CAF’s new efforts to increase opportunities for challenged athletes in surfing and other action sports.
Watch his 2007 Paul Mitchell Spirit Award Winner Fox Sports piece here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB4ipo5tDA0
Visit Ryan's Homepage
www.RyanLevinson.com
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