Pittsburgh-area triathlete heading to Paralympic Games in Paris
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Paralympic Games start soon in Paris, and one of the athletes representing the U.S. is from Bethel Park.
People who know retired Marine officer Eric McElvenny say he's one tough customer.
"I would never mess with a Marine. Especially that guy," Andrew Chambers said.
A native of Belle Vernon now living in Bethel Park, McElvenny lost part of his right leg due to an IED in Afghanistan. He could have given up on life. He didn't.
"The people in my life have taught me how to be resilient and when something happens to look for opportunity in it," McElvenny said.
This is McElvenny's second Paralympics. He competed in Tokyo. His discipline is the triathlon, which is where the VA Pittsburgh comes in. The team at the H. John Heinz III helped build two specially made ortho-prosthetics to help him compete. It's dialed in for McElvenny's use.
"At the end of the day too, you can put him on a different foot if he wants that type of dynamic, that kind of energy return," Chambers said.
McElvenny hasn't walked nor run this journey alone.
"I couldn't do it without my family, the support of my wife. There's days I come home and I might have had a rough workout and she's the one that brings me up and says, 'Hey, it's one day, keep moving forward. This is your goal, we're going to support you ever y step of the way,'" McElvenny said.
McElvenny's fellow Marines got his back as well.
"I got a text from someone I served with that said my wife and I are coming to Paris to root you on," McElvenny said.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begin Aug. 28 and run until Sept. 8.