Dream come true: BVA grad McElvenny qualifies for Tokyo Paralympics
Rich Cruse
Belle Vernon graduate Eric McElvenny runs a race in 2018. McElvenny is part of the U.S. Paralympic Triathlon team that will take part in the Tokyo Paralympics starting in August.
Submitted photo
Eric McElvenney is shown during his tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Submitted photo
Eric McElvenny is shown in one of his racing uniforms. McElvenny is part of the U.S. Paralympic Triathlon team that will take part in the Tokyo Paralympics starting in August.
Submitted photo
Eric McElvenny (far right) poses with family members, including his wife Rachel and their pet dog.
There are moments in time that shape the future for each of us.
For 2001 Belle Vernon Area graduate Eric McElvenny, three moments that stand out have led him to qualifying for the U.S. Paralympic Triathlon team that will take part in the Tokyo Paralympics starting in August.
“What makes the Paralympics special is that each and every athlete has a disability and we each have a unique story,” he said. “Almost every one of us has overcome something.”
McElvenny’s inspirational story to Tokyo goes back a decade to 2011.
A 2006 graduate of the Naval Academy, McElvenny became a Marine after graduating. It was on his final tour with the U.S. Marine Corps that his life changed forever when he stepped on an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan and suffered the amputation of his right leg below the knee.
Instead of giving up because of the injury, the standout high school athlete and member of the Naval Academy rugby team started doing ironman triathlons and long-distance races. He also began his career as a motivational speaker during this time.
Triathlons consist of three legs: swimming, a bike ride and a run. The transition times between the swim and the bike ride and then again between the bike ride and the run are also included in an athlete’s total time.
It was in late 2018 the next moment that helped shape McElvenny’s journey to the Paralympics.
“I was out to dinner with a buddy of mine, Jamie Brown, who has also qualified for (Tokyo),” McElvenny said. “He said to me, ‘I know you are a fast guy and I think you would qualify for Tokyo if you gave it a real shot.'”
McElvenny started researching the procedures involved and in 2019, he made the switch to train for the 2020 Paralympics.
“It is a bit of a process, and you have to travel around the world (for triathlons) to accumulate points,” he said. “I made it my goal to see if it was too late or not to qualify for Tokyo.”
COVID-19 pushed the Paralympics back a year, but McElvenny pushed forward.
“Obviously, training was interrupted by the pandemic, but I stayed strong,” he said.
The third moment that shaped McElvenny’s journey to Tokyo was a split-second long, although he did not realize it at the time.
Last month, McElvenny took part in three triathlons knowing that the three events would dictate whether he made it to Japan.
At the first, the AJ Bell World Triathlon Championship Series Leeds in Leeds, Great Britain, McElvenny finished third with a total time of 1:07:03, one second ahead of Joe Kurt of Luxemburg.
That one second was the difference between McElvenny making it to Tokyo or not, although he had no clue at the time.
A week later at the 2021 World Triathlon Para Cup Besancon in Besancon, France, McElvenny took second place.
After the runner-up finish, McElvenny did research on the third race, the 2021 Americas Triathlon Para Championships Pleasant Prairie in Prairie, Wisconsin.
“I had to win Pleasant Prairie to make it,” McElvenny said.
Knowing he had to win, McElvenny did just that as he won by eight seconds, securing a second U.S. Paralympic spot in his category and joining his friend Jamie Brown on the Paralympic team.
McElvenny realized that his dream would be a reality, and the one second advantage he held over Kurt in Leeds was the difference.
“That one second, it changed everything,” McElvenny said. “The dream could have been over already.”
McElvenny took a moment to explain the scoring system and how it was based off of where the athletes finished.
“Each race is a little bit different and for that series, the winner earned 500 points,” he said. “Second place earned 7.5 percent less points, third earned 7.5 percent lower, and so on.
“That one second in Leeds meant everything and we get to keep three scores. Those last three races were my best.”
The three-week journey was taxing for McElvenny.
“The travel took a lot out of me,” he said. “But it was worth it.”
For the Paralympics, the athletes will be broken down into a category of having a below-the-knee impairment or an above-the-elbow impairment.
The Paralympics begin Aug. 23, a month to the day after the Summer Olympics begin, and will take place at the same courses and in the same venues.
There will be five different category races for the triathlon over two consecutive days and will be seen on the Olympic channel.
“Over the last decade, the Paralympics have been gaining traction,” McElvenny said. “Each category will race at a different time.”
McElvenny will enter Tokyo ranked eighth in the world, one spot behind Brown, the man who put this dream into McElvenny’s mind.
“Even though we compete and try to beat each other, we have both moved each other along to be more competitive in the world,” McElvenny said. “Jamie is living at the Olympic training center in Colorado, and I really think we bring out the best in each other.
“Our goal is to get two podium spots.”
The whole journey and accomplishment have shown McElvenny how everyone heading to Tokyo has different stories yet so many are intertwined.
McElvenny pointed out Brad Snyder, one of his classmates at the Naval Academy and another Paralympian.
“We graduated together and there are only 17 Team USA para triathletes,” he said. “An IED blast led to his loss of vision a few months before my injury.
“It makes this feel like a small world, and all of us overcoming something resonates with viewers.”
Unfortunately, McElvenny’s family will not be able to attend as no foreign spectators will be allowed due to pandemic concerns.
However, McElvenny’s wife Rachel, their three kids, his parents Michael and Susan, his sisters Heather and Shawna as well as their respective husbands and kids, will all be watching as will countless others.
Whether Eric’s supporters call him husband, dad, son, brother, uncle, or something else, each and every one look at him as an inspiration.
And while the Tokyo Paralympics will be another moment in time for McElvenny, it is a safe bet that this moment will provide a lifetime of pride for those who know him best.
For more information on Eric McElvenny’s story, visit his webpage at www.ericmcelvenny.com.