KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rachel Watts was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2018, but as she prepares for a chance to compete at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games this September, she refuses to let the limitations of her disease define her.
“My ability to walk, my ability to use my right hand, my visual processing and my cognitive abilities have all really been affected,” Watts said.
Despite the setbacks, Watts said the cycling part of triathlon gives her a sense of freedom and exhilaration.
“You don’t get to dictate what my life is going to be, what my future is going to be, so I’m going to do my best to create something different,” she said.
With less than a month to go until Paralympic qualification, Watts now sees what was once a distant dream as a tangible goal.
“Looking at my race times and looking at the competition, I think my long distance running has really turned into an opportunity,” Watts said.
Watts will travel to Italy to race in the first week of June, then head to France and Wales before finishing the month in Canada.
She is focused on savoring every moment of every race.
“I just want to live each day to the fullest because I don’t know when I might lose my abilities,” Watts said.
For Watts, every pedal stroke brings him closer to his dream, proving that true freedom lies in the courage and perseverance to keep moving forward.
“I feel like MS was, in a weird way, a gift I didn’t know I wanted, wrapped in the ugliest wrapping I’d ever seen, and now I feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before,” she said.
To join the journey to Paris, follow Watts on Instagram.
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