“she called some Paralympic coaches in Baltimore, and we went to talk with them during spring break 2012,” said michelle. “They watched me swim and told me I had a shot.”
Like most college freshmen, michelle Konkoly’s life was changing. A swimmer for the Georgetown Hoyas and member of the National society of Collegiate scholars, michelle was learning how to balance athletics and academics, and was succeeding with flying colors in both. But on January 11, 2011, her life changed even more when she fell five stories from her dorm window.
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Before she could compete for a place on the team, michelle needed to be classified. To make all the events competitive, the International Paralympic Committee classifies all athletes according to their injuries on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the most disabled and 10 being the least. michelle was classified as an s9 and went to North Dakota in June 2012 to compete for a place on Team UsA.
Against all odds, she survived the fall—but not without harm. she landed on her feet, breaking an ankle, a foot and her back. A native of eagleville, Pennsylvania, she came to Every now and then, a former patient drops us a line. magee rehabilitation where she spent five weeks as an This time we heard from two: Michelle Konkoly and Philip Grosser. inpatient. she continued her rehabilitation at the riverfront “It was so cool to be at the outpatient facility in April 2011 where she spent eight weeks doing Paralympic trials, and to hear everyone’s stories. Usually I’m the Locomotor Training and Day rehab. only in the room that has a disability—not here,” said michelle, laughing. “It was incredible to be surrounded by people with similar “every day after an outpatient session, I could come home and do experiences. Nobody felt sorry for me—they just wanted to beat something new,” she said. “At the end of my eight weeks at the me! It was very competitive, and I loved it.” riverfront, I had learned how to adapt with my injury and was up and walking. It was incredible.” michelle had a great showing at the trials and was just shy of making the team. But she’s not giving up that easily. so what’s michelle up to now?
Michelle Konkoly
Currently a junior at Georgetown, she couldn’t stay away from the pool for long. she red-shirted with the Hoyas during her sophomore year as she was re-building her strength. she swam some exhibition races, but became frustrated with the un-even playing field. “I wasn’t competitive anymore, and I’m a very competitive person,” she said. “my injuries didn’t allow me to swim like I could before. I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great to compete with other people like me?’ That’s when I first started to think about the Paralympics.” Her mom agreed—and ran with it.
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CAN DO! FALL 2012
“I start Paralympic swim meets this coming spring,” she said. “maybe, and hopefully, I’ll be trying out again in four years. But for now, I’m just happy to be competitive again.” In the meantime, she is focused on finishing up her biology degree at Georgetown. she spent this summer at magee shadowing Dr. Chris formal and volunteering at the hospital. “I always knew I wanted to get into medicine,” she said. “But my experience at magee solidified it.” **