Committed to Chasing the Dream

Stories of Commitment: Allysa Seely

Allysa Seely is a powerhouse.

When you type her name into a search bar, Wikipedia will make that fact perfectly clear. Of the international level paratriathlon races Allysa has started since 2016 (18), you can count the number of times she didn’t win on one hand (4) - of those, she placed second three times. She is a three-time world champion and was the first person to win a Paralympic gold medal in triathlon in Rio 2016. Five years later, Allysa’s name was written in the history books again, as the first woman to win back-to-back Paralympic gold medals in triathlon.

Allysa Seely racing Paris Paralympic Triathlon

Allysa has a deep love for racing, steadfast determination, undeniable talent – and she’s not one to ever take “no” for an answer.

What you can’t see in Allysa’s long list of achievements on a generic web biography are the races she didn’t start. The challenges she has faced over the past 11 years since being diagnosed with Chiari II Malformation, basilar invagination, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affect her brain, spine and connective tissues, have been numerous. In 2010, after her initial diagnosis, she underwent brain and spinal surgery, and in 2013 her left leg had to be amputated below the knee. Allysa suffers from muscle weakness and imbalance, chronic pain, and autonomic nervous system issues due to her illness. In 2017, Allysa underwent six abdominal surgeries in four weeks after Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome caused gastroparesis. In 2020, she faced multiple infections in her leg and eventually was diagnosed with endocarditis (inflammation in the heart) and blood clots in her heart that resulted months in and out of hospitals and being unable to train for the majority of the year.

With each challenge she’s faced, Allysa has had to listen as some medical professionals explain her limitations and ask her to re-examine her goals to compete at the highest level. But each time she’s answered the chorus of “no’s” with unwavering commitment – a commitment that has led Allysa to achieve successes beyond anyone’s expectations, chasing and accomplishing the dreams she has been brave enough to dream.

Allysa Seely at home

Allysa’s strength lies not only in her determination but in her undeniable talent and love for the sport. Learn more about Allysa and her journey to the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games:

Liv: Can you tell us about your journey to being selected on Team USA for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games? 

Allysa: The journey has been an unexpected one. Ultimately the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) offered me a bipartite invitation, given to athletes with extraordinary circumstances during the qualifying period.

Liv: As the first woman to win back-to-back Paralympic Gold medals in Triathlon at Rio and Tokyo, how does it feel to be preparing for your third Paralympics? 

Allysa: Each journey thus far has been decisively distinct and this one has been no different. Preparing for my third Games and hopefully medal has come with its own set of challenges and gratifications. This time around I am on this journey 100% for myself, with a goal of having no guilt for being successful and unabashedly me. I have been intentional in protecting my peace which has come with big risks, but ultimately a new found happiness and fulfillment. I have continued to be a voice for clean, safe, and fair sport for not only myself but all athletes.

Allysa Seely with her dogs at home

Liv: Could you tell us about Paratriathlon and the category you race in?

Allysa: Paratriathlon is triathlon for those with a physical disability. In the sport, we have a classification system to create a level playing field based on impairments. There are 3 main types of classification: sitting or wheelchair athletes (PTWC), standing athletes (PTS), and visually impaired athletes (PTVI). In those categories, there is a rank system based on disability severity with the lower numbers being the most disabled classes. I am classified and compete as a PTS2 athlete. Therefore, I am a standing athlete of the highest disability rating based on all disabilities. I have both an amputation which is very easy to see and a neurological disability that is harder to recognize to the layperson.

Liv: Can you describe some of the challenges you have faced in the past few years?

Allysa: Which challenges haven’t I faced… eeek. It has been a challenging three years. After 2021 I was required to take a year off the sport. A year off in a ranking-based sport can be career ending due to the logistics of how starts to events work, especially when athletes can manipulate the systems to try and prevent their biggest challengers from reentering the sport. This has been by far the hardest part of the past three years. There have been many challenges related to just this, but the one thing I knew from the jump was when I am ready to end my career it will be on my terms and I stuck with that mentality. The road back has included injuries such as a broken foot in 2023 further complicating the process and then a major error leading to a crash after being given a discretionary invite into the 2023 World Championships. In 2024 I needed luck to start falling on my side, spoiler alert it never did. I packed a bag and said I would race every single race I could get into to show the world I was fit and with my times I could still compete as one of the best in the world. I finally caught a break in the very last race of the qualifying period when I rolled on to the Montreal World Series just days before the event, it was here I could finally race the top-ranked athletes and show the world, on the same course, on the same day, that I was still here to be the best. I got the notification email while sitting in the airport getting ready to head home from 3 weeks in Europe. It was too late to change my flight and head straight to Montreal so I flew back home to CO and the next morning was back at the airport. Going into this race as the fifth week of straight travel and the third back-to-back race, I knew a lot was riding on it. I was going there to win with the largest margin I could, anything less would have been the end of my road. Harsh rain and wind made for unfavorable conditions for many, but I have learned in my long career I can perform well. My coach and I had a back pocket plan that we had been hoping to employ all season, and it finally came to fruition when I crossed the line.

Allysa Seely training

Liv: How do you balance managing your health conditions with the intense demands of training and competing at a world-class elite level? 

Allysa: As many may or may not know, I live with a life-threatening, complex chronic illness. This makes every day a challenge especially when you are the only person (we are aware of) chasing elite athletic dreams under such circumstances. At times I fall into the trap many of us do comparing ourselves to others, wondering why I never have any free time, how I am always so behind and can never seem to catch my breath. It is because of the illness. I have multiple appointments a week, most 90 minutes each way from my home, I have 4-6 hours of active medical care a day that I provide myself and another 8- 10 hours of care where I have to be hooked up to machines and pumps that limit my ability to train. Hospitalizations, surgeries, and procedures are all common occurrences that have to be worked around. On top of all of that is trying to manage the large team of medical and sport providers, and keep everyone on the same page while trying to all work together toward a common goal with competing priorities from each party. On the best days, it is a symphony of chaos on the worst it can be paralyzingly overwhelming. It has required everything one could imagine to keep moving as an elite athlete, some of the most important are structure, an arguably stupidly high level of stubbornness, and being unwilling to quit on myself ever.

Liv: What does a typical day look like for you in the weeks leading up to a major competition like the Paralympics? 

Allysa: If I am being honest, it's chaos. For the Paralympics I am traveling for just over one month. I have one particular medication that is only good for nine days and must be kept at 41 degrees F. As you can imagine I cannot fly back and forth from Europe every nine days to get this prescription, so I have to organize my team: medical providers, pharmacy, sports team and people willing to offer a hand to make sure I can get what I need, when and where I need it. And usually beg huge systems along the way to allow for me to chase this wild dream. There is a significant amount of planning that goes into the weeks before events (for months or years ahead of time), a significant amount of organization, packing, checks and follow-ups - so that everyone is on the same page. Oh yeah, and I train and do all of my normal care, equipment maintenance and management. This cannot all be done without sacrifice, the sacrifice is usually sleep and temporarily my sanity. Will it all be worth it... ABSOLUTELY.

Allysa Seely on the Avow Advanced Pro

Liv: What are your goals beyond the Paris 2024 Paralympics, both in your athletic career and personal life? 

Allysa: First, world champs and then vacation! The opportunity at a home games is going to be very hard to turn down. Will there be more to chase?... I guess we will have to see. In my personal life, I want to find a little bit more balance, I want to spend more time with loved ones, rekindle a lost relationship, and grow into my family. I want to learn more, maybe add to my formal education all with the long-term goal of making sports safer for women and those with disabilities, continuing to fight for fair equitable practices for athletes, and more.

Liv: Beyond your sport, what else are you passionate about? 

Allysa: I have become very passionate and outspoken about sport governance over the years, taking on many roles to grow this sport. I am passionate about learning, leadership, politics, my dogs, and advocacy work.

Liv: What message do you hope people take away from your story? 

Allysa: We hold our own pens - go and write a great adventure into your story. Fill it with challenges, dreams, sacrifice, and joy, sprinkle in heartache and loss because one can never truly know success and love without them. Be the brilliant author of your life story!