As a competitive cyclist between 1997-2000, Tricia Downing’s career was a promising one. However, one fateful September day, during a training ride in Golden, Colorado, Tricia’s life changed forever when she was hit head-on by a car and instantly paralyzed from the chest down. Returning to a normal life after sustaining a T-4 (chest level) spinal cord injury is anything but simple, and yet Tricia’s remarkable come-back to sports has commended her as the first female paraplegic athlete to cross the finish line of an Ironman triathlon. Now a member of the physically challenged National Triathlon Team, Tricia is also a pioneer in women’s wheelchair triathlon and has since competed in over 15 marathons and a triathlons ranging from sprint to Ironman.