Para-athlete realized dreams in Paris
Originally posted by UW Medicine Newsroom
Taylor Swanson prepares to run the 60-meter dash at the Husky Classic.
Image Credit: UW Medicine News Video Team
A local para-athlete who won two medals last summer in Paris is now an advocate for athletes with disabilities.
The Paralympic Games are the premier event for athletes with disabilities. They take place right after the Olympics, at the same venues, and are broadcast worldwide. It’s an event that every para-athlete dreams to compete in.
Taylor Swanson’s dream became a reality this past summer in Paris.
Swanson, a Seattleite now living in Spokane, competed in her first Paralympics, where she ran the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4×100 meter universal relay races.
“It’s crazy to be able to come back from Paris with the silver and bronze medal. I didn’t know what I was capable of or how that would end up,” she said.
It’s been a long journey for the 32-year-old sprinter.
Swanson was born in South Korea and moved to Seattle after being adopted. As a young girl, she said, she loved to run.
“Track has always been my passion since I was a little kid.” Swanson said.
In high school, she made the state championships, competed in the Junior Olympics, and was even recruited by the South Korean national track and field team.
In July 2014, Swanson suffered a knee injury. In late 2023, after years of physical therapy and doctor visits due to her knee injury, a physical therapist recommended she try para-athletics. More tests were ordered and that’s when it was discovered she had cerebral palsy.
The disorder affects body movements and coordination and is caused by brain damage that happens during or shortly after birth. The diagnosis redirected Swanson’s goals in sports.
“That’s kind of where I went to change from trying for the Olympics to trying for the Paralympics,” she recalled.
This diagnosis also provided clarity.
“I just had to work harder, and I thought that was normal, but realizing, no, that’s not normal — that I had a diagnosed disability,” Swanson said. “It actually was a relief for me.”
Shortly after her diagnosis, Swanson reached out to Parasport Spokane, a nonprofit with a reputation for training athletes with disabilities to compete at a high level.
“I really wanted to get back to track after an injury kind of set things back,” Swanson said.
Transitioning to para-track events is a decision she hasn’t regretted.
“To be able to do it professionally is really a dream,” Swanson said. She also is motivated to show that people with disabilities, and specifically cerebral palsy, can stay active.
“Taylor embodies why physical activity is so important for people of all ages and ability levels with her own story and journey and her success as a Paralympic athlete,” said Dr. Cindy Lin, a sports-medicine specialist at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the director of clinical innovation for The Sports Institute.
Swanson has become an ambassador for The Sports Institute ExerciseRx project, a digital health platform designed to help patients become more physically active.
“Through a Seattle Children’s Hospital grant in 2022, a version of the ExerciseRx app was tailored for adolescents and teenagers with cerebral palsy,” Lin said. “What this allowed them to do was perform recommended exercises at their own time, on their own convenience.”
Lin explained that ExerciseRx is personalized, with home exercises and other training adjusted according to each individual’s ability level, regardless of their medical conditions.
Swanson hopes she can inspire others in similar circumstances and to raise understanding of what disability in sports looks like.
“I’m hoping to continue working with them and bring awareness to communities and schools so that people can see themselves in me and realize that your disability doesn’t need to define you. It’s just a part of who you are,” she said.
Download broadcast-ready soundbites and related multimedia with Swanson.
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