‘I just kept fighting and fighting’

photo submitted

Only seven months after a vicious motor accident, Kim Wedgerfield crosses the finish line of a triathlon in Hamburg, Germany, in September 2007.

Kim facts

Wedgerfield swims using one arm, bikes with her left leg and runs with the support of a walker or canes.
She hopes to one day see paratriathlon as a Paralympic sport and she wants to compete.
She has qualified for the 2011 World Triathlon Championships in Beijing.
“I want to be there,” she said. “I’ve worked really hard and that’s one of my hopes and dreams.”
She said her main goal is to inspire others with physical disabilities to become active.

Published: September 15, 2010 5:05 a.m.

Last modified: September 15, 2010 12:10 a.m.

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Nothing can slow Kim Wedgerfield down.

In 1989, Wedgerfield, now 52, was in a serious car accident, which left her with severe brain injuries that weakened the right side of her body.

She used her injury as motivation and began competing as a paratriathlete in 1997. However, the setbacks didn’t stop there.

“I was, ironically, diagnosed with Huntington’s disease in 2002,” said Wedgerfield of the degenerative brain condition.

Then in 2004, she was struck by a car while riding her bike; and in 2007, was hit by a truck while driving.

After her last accident, doctors told her she likely wouldn’t run, swim or bike again.

“Six weeks after I got out of the hospital, I went on to compete in Edmonton and qualify there to race in the 2007 Hamburg World Championships,” she said.

Wedgerfield has now been a gold and silver medallist in four World Triathlon Championships, including one last weekend in Budapest where she snagged silver.

“I just kept fighting and fighting,” she said.

“I’m so grateful when I cross that (finish) line, I’m just so ecstatic.”

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