WUSM Occupational Therapy Instructor Kerri Morgan and Shae Communications CEO Kevin Brown set a precedent Sept. 4 when the two compete in the Lake St. Louis Triathlon. The athletes will be the first-ever to compete in the event’s newly created wheelchair division. Columnist Kathleen Nelson tells the full story in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.
First wheelchair athletes race in Lake Saint Louis Triathlon
(Republished with permission from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This article originally ran in the Sports section on Saturday, August 28, 2004)
By Kathleen Nelson
Of the Post-Dispatch
You’d think that after 22 years, organizers of the area’s oldest and most popular triathlon would have covered all their bases. Well, Lake Saint Louis Triathlon, meet Kevin Brown and Kerri Morgan.
“I called the people in Lake Saint Louis and asked, ‘How do we register for the wheelchair division?'” Morgan said. “They said, ‘We don’t have a wheelchair division, but we’ll do everything we can to get you in the race.'”
Thus was born, after more than two decades, the wheelchair division of the Lake Saint Louis Triathlon, scheduled for Sept. 4. Brown, 39, is CEO of Shae Communications, consultant to the Columbia, Mo., Parks and Recreation Department and a motivational speaker. Morgan, 30, is an occupational therapist and instructor at Washington University. The race is the first triathlon for each.
Brown qualified that statement, saying: “It’s my first official triathlon, though I’ve unofficially been involved in swimming, cycling and running my whole life, even before the accident.”
The accident occurred in 1993, when Brown said his motorcycle “ended up wrapped around my neck” after he veered off a road outside Columbia. “My eyes were closing. I saw my wife, Brenda’s, face and said good-bye. I was fading away.”
A 74-year-old passer-by found Brown lying by the side of the road, removed the bike from around his neck and waited with him for 45 minutes for help to arrive. Doctors told Brown he would never work, never feed himself, never have children.
Undaunted, Brown regained mobility, and six years ago Brenda gave birth to a daughter, Lauren. The competitive fire of the former football and volleyball player returned. He has used a race chair and a hand cycle for years and met Morgan in a wheelchair rugby league.
“This is offseason in rugby, and we were looking for a way to stay in shape,” Brown said. “Lake Saint Louis was a good fit because it gave us a goal to shoot for, a reason to keep training. Besides, I don’t like to sit around. That must sound odd coming from someone who can’t use his legs.”
Unlike Brown, Morgan has been in a wheelchair most of her life. At age 1, she was stricken with transverse spinal myelitis, inflammation caused by a viral infection. She was paralyzed from the chest down at age 3 but gradually regained some feeling in her extremities.
“My parents threw me in the pool when I was 4,” said Morgan, who joined the neighborhood swim team at age 6 or 7. “It was a good way for me to compete on an even plane with the other kids.”
Most of the 800 triathletes competing at Lake Saint Louis have a sport among the three that they dread. For Brown and Morgan, though, the toughest part isn’t the events, but the transitions, when athletes hurry to change shoes and equipment to move from swimming to biking, from biking to running.
“Think about how crucial they are for any triathlete,” Brown said. “Now think about how hard it is to do without the use of your legs.”
Their transitions could be tougher because of the specialized equipment they’ll use, including:
A pool buoy and swim gloves. The buoy, a small piece of foam placed between the legs, keeps their lower extremities afloat. The gloves keep their fingers extended and together, resulting in a more efficient stroke.
A hand cycle, which has three wheels and is propelled by using arm strength rather than leg strength. Its components mimic a bicycle – chain, gears, brakes.
A racing chair, propelled by arm force applied directly onto the wheels.
By nature, triathletes are gizmo geeks who think nothing of spending a few thousand dollars for a bicycle. The price tag soars for Brown and Morgan. The hand cycle and racing chairs cost at least $3,000 each, so they went in search of sponsors to help defray the costs. Brown bought his race chair courtesy of a real estate developer; Morgan purchased her hand cycle with a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
They have trained together at least once a week to push and support each other. On Sept. 4, though, it’s every one for himself.
“She’s a much better swimmer and cyclist than I am,” Brown said. “Now, if the run was 10 miles or so, I’d have time to catch up with her. She’ll smoke me, but she does that on the rugby floor, so I’m used to it.”
E-mail: knelson@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-340-8233
Copyright 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.