Pedal It Forward

Brandon is a Paralympic Cycling National Team athlete who works for an accounting firm. In 2014, he dove into shallow waters at the beach and was left paralyzed from the chest down. Claiming ownership of his life with a spinal cord injury meant relearning all his daily activities from feeding himself to changing clothes and getting active again. He started using a handcycle for cardiovascular improvement and was immediately hooked. Brandon grew as an athlete and exactly three years after the accident, he was invited to join the US Paralympic Cycling Residence Program.

CAF has supported Brandon with competition travel and equipment costs over the years, helping him make huge strides in his athletic career and qualifying for his first world championships. Brandon is a two-time silver medalist at the 2019 Parapan American Games, silver medalist at the 2019 Paracycling World Championship, and earned multiple medals at the UCI World Cup and National Championships. Now he’s training full-time with the US Paralympic Cycling Team to bring home the gold from the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.

We are grateful to spend an hour with Brandon Lyons and Kristie Boltz and talk about his journey.  Some important links: 

https://www.challengedathletes.org

http://support.challengedathletes.org/site/TR?px=1293395&fr_id=1760&pg=personal