At 69, Gulf War Veteran and Team USA Para-Cyclist Ellie Kennedy Eyes the LA28 Paralympic Games
Cedars-Sinai published a profile on November 10 of Ellie Kennedy, a 69-year-old U.S. Paralympics Cycling road athlete working toward the LA28 Paralympic Games. A Gulf War veteran who began racing in her 60s, Kennedy earned a bronze medal at a World Cup in Italy in 2025, securing a spot on the U.S. team for her first Para-Cycling World Road Championships, where she finished fifth in the time trial. She is now a member of the U.S. Paralympics Cycling team.
Kennedy served more than 15 years in the U.S. Air Force and Army, including Army service during the Gulf War. Years after leaving the military she developed ataxia, a neurological condition that affects balance, and eventually discovered para-cycling. She credits her military training with teaching her to stay focused and solve problems under pressure.
Earlier this year her training was interrupted by serious health problems including severe allergic reactions, pneumonia and sepsis. Living near Tucson, Arizona, she struggled to access specialty care and was connected with Cedars-Sinai through the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Medical Network; Cedars-Sinai is one of 11 institutions in the network and the Official Medical Provider of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Specialists including pulmonologist Isabel Pedraza evaluated her and suspected some exercise breathing symptoms previously attributed to asthma were related to vocal cord dysfunction. Over the summer she was hospitalized with a severe case of Valley fever and pneumonia, which cost her a spot on the 2026 world championship team.
She is riding again and rebuilding strength toward a return to the national team and international competition, with LA28 as her goal. She also said veterans' needs should be a focus every day of the year, not only on Veterans Day.
(Source: Cedars-Sinai)
Source: Cedars-Sinai
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：2024年残疾人自行车公路世锦赛比赛资料图（苏黎世），非 Kennedy 本人。照片经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: File photo of the 2024 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich, not of Kennedy herself. Via Wikimedia Commons.
