Danielle is a native Southern Californian (with a few years (okay, maybe 8) in Colorado thrown in there) who enjoys being active and spending time with her friends and family. In August 2004, her left foot was amputated following a recurrence of Synovial Sarcoma. She worked to rehabilitate quickly so she could enjoy her senior year of high school at Scripps Ranch High School. From there she moved on to UC Davis, but always felt she was missing out on activities like running and biking because she did not have the proper prosthesis. She enjoyed her time at UC Davis and graduated in 2009 with a BA in International Relations. By a twist of fate Danielle ended up in Los Angeles after graduation and moved in with the one and only Stacie Fejtek (Smith) who encouraged her to get involved with Challenged Athletes Foundation. At the end of 2010, Danielle applied for a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation for a running prosthetic and found out in April that she had received it! That was a day she will NEVER forget. Since then, Danielle hasn’t looked back. After receiving her running prosthetic, Danielle began racing triathlons. She trained with Coaches Bernard and Gina Baski and the support of TriFit Club & Studios until relocating to San Diego during Summer 2012.
In August 2011, Danielle raced in New York City at the Accenture USA Paratriathlon National Championships. Not only was this her first trip to New York, it was also her first triathlon using her running prosthetic and Olympic distance triathlon. Despite the rough weather that day, Danielle finished in 1st place in the Female Tri-5 division (below knee amputees). This win qualified Danielle to race at Paratriathlon World Championships in Beijing! And that is why the blog started. To allow Danielle’s fantastic supporters to follow her training and racing.
By the way, she won a gold medal in Beijing and will never forget that experience. Racing in China! Who knew that one goal could lead to so many exciting opportunities.
To learn more about Danielle’s story, click here.
To learn more about Challenged Athletes Foundation, click here.
To learn about TriFit MultiSport, click here.
Danielle’s email address- daniellejmclaughlin@gmail.com
