What It Takes to Overcome Setbacks in Elite Sport: Kate Brim’s Story

The Journey Back to Racing

Kate Brim

I get the call from my director and the first thing out of his mouth is, “Congrats, Kate, you've made the Paris Paralympic roster.” And he’s super excited to see what I’m able to accomplish there. You know, it was so hard. In the moment, I couldn’t even be excited because I was internalizing this: I do not have a bike. I literally do not have a bike right now that is race legal.

So the first thing out of my mouth wasn’t even “thank you.” It was, “What do we do about my bike?”

Elizabeth Montavon

Today I’m joined by Kate Brim, a Paralympic gold medalist and world champion hand cyclist for Team USA. As a four-time world champion and two-time medalist at the Paris Paralympic Games, Kate has quickly established herself as one of the top athletes in adaptive cycling. But her path to the podium has been anything but typical.

After a routine surgery in 2017 left her a quadriplegic, Kate had to relearn what independence looked like, eventually discovering adaptive sport and a passion for hand cycling.

She’s since gone on to compete and win at the highest level, even while managing a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, becoming a powerful example of an athlete who always finds her way back to sport.

Kate, thank you so much for joining us today. I am so excited to hear your story, and I really want to dive straight into it. But before I do that, I have some manners. So let me ask you, how are you doing? What have you been up to lately?

Kate Brim

Yeah, thank you for having me. I’m absolutely honored to be here. I’m getting back into the swing of racing this year, which has been an absolute honor, and I’m so excited to be back into racing. It’s been nerve-wracking and exciting. My first World Cup this past month went really well. I managed to do a full sweep and win in the team relay, the time trial, and the road race, which was really cool.

We also had a really challenging course, and it was a new location for the first time ever. It was held in Asia, which had never hosted a World Cup or World Championships before. So that was a pretty big deal.

For that being my first race back, it was absolutely amazing. It’s been quite the journey over these past couple years.

Elizabeth Montavon

I feel like we’re about to add so much context to this incredible comeback you just described, because that is the whole point of my next question. Kate, tell me your sports story that nobody’s ever asked you about.

Overcoming Adversity and Finding Adaptive Sport

Kate Brim

Yeah. So I was injured in December of 2017. I sustained a spinal cord injury because of surgery, which, as you know, is pretty rare. It’s that little two percent chance that we all sign away for surgeries that none of us ever blink an eye at or think about.

It was definitely an eye-opener. I was 19 years old at the time. I was going to school for construction management. I thought I had my life set. I was very naive in that way of thinking, “Cool, I’ve got life’s hardest job done. I’m going to school for construction management. I’m already working in directional drilling and construction work at 19 years old.”

I had started working when I was about 14 or 15 and really enjoyed it. I loved it. I was like, “Yep, this is the path of my life.” And then my injury happened. That was completely taken from me, and it was very hard at first. When I was first injured, they gave me some pretty harsh realities as far as what my life would look like. They told me I’d need a caregiver 24/7, that I’d never be able to be independent, and that living in a nursing home would honestly be the best option for me based upon my level of injury. That was very hard to hear and put me in a pretty dark place for several weeks. It’s hard to hear when you’re 19 years old because many of us, when we think of nursing homes, we think of the places our grandparents go when they become less independent and need extra help. So that was my thought. I was like, “No way in hell am I going to be put in a place with a bunch of old people.” Later on, I learned that nursing homes are also an important tool for people with extensive disabilities and diagnoses. It’s a very valuable resource.

But it wasn’t for me. Thankfully, I was sent to an amazing rehabilitation hospital, Mary Free Bed, and their whole goal is getting people back to doing what they love — whether it’s through community, religion, sport, whatever it may be. And that’s exactly what they did for me.

For me, it felt like I was starting all over again with life. They introduced me to adaptive sport, and my first couple years after my injury, I was trying everything under the sun and enjoying every bit of it. I fell in love with hand cycling and wheelchair rugby. I love both of them very much, but hand cycling especially — just the freedom it gave me, the independence it gave me. It got me out of my wheelchair and made me feel a little more level with my peers around me. At times in the beginning, I felt like a burden. That was hard. But the hand cycling and wheelchair rugby communities really started to show me my independence and what’s truly possible. The sky’s the limit if you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone and try things. And that’s exactly what I did.

Mary Free Bed was a huge stepping stone in my career, and I couldn’t thank them enough. I did wheelchair rugby and hand cycling pretty recreationally at first because I honestly didn’t think the competition side was for me. I just enjoyed the recreational side and the social aspect. But after enough people egging me on to get into competition, I did my first para-cycling race and immediately fell in love with it. I had that moment of, “Why did I say no for so long?” I was a rower before my injury, so I’ve always had a competitive spirit. I was always competitive during group rides and wheelchair rugby practices, which is why people kept saying, “Come on, you’ve got to try this.” And when I finally said yes, I felt like a whole new set of doors opened for me.

The amount of people I met, the new things I learned, and the amount it helped me grow in my independence and confidence was huge. I did my first race at the end of 2021 and fell in love with it. Then in 2022, I did my first para-cycling-specific race, which is where I qualified for my first World Cup and World Championships. When I went into that race, I had just hired my coach, Tom Davis, who I’m still with to this day. He told me, “You’re going to experience everything out there — climbs, descents, technical turns, wind, all of it. All I want you to do is ride as hard as you possibly can, and we’ll use that data to move forward.” And I was like, “Okay. I can do that.”

Elizabeth Montavon

Wow. I just got goosebumps. That sounds like such a pivotal moment in your athletic journey. I want to point out that this routine surgery that didn’t go routinely — I don’t even know if “accident” is the right word. How do you refer to that moment?

Kate Brim

Yeah, I wouldn’t even say it was an accident. There was nothing the surgeon did wrong. I developed a blood clot that traveled up my spinal canal and damaged my C4-C5 spinal cord. It was my body’s own doing. I get asked all the time if I sued, and I didn’t. It was my body’s own doing. And honestly, when you look at my case and my care, I had the best care you could imagine. They made sure I was safe and taken care of. They explored every avenue. The surgeon was very hands-on throughout my whole recovery. I couldn’t have asked for better care despite the unfortunate circumstances.

Elizabeth Montavon

Absolutely. And then to hear that you go from this moment to a full-fledged professional athlete in under five years is incredible. That’s such an incredible use of human spirit. I’m sure this experience tested every part of you mentally and physically, but especially mentally, what an accelerated timeline you were on.

Learning to Navigate Elite Sport

Kate Brim

When I did that race in Chattanooga and found out I qualified for World Cup and World Championships, it wasn’t even two weeks later before we were headed to Canada. And I had to learn how to break apart a bike and pack it into a bike case. I didn’t even have a bike case. My coach in Indiana lent me his case, and we were over the phone with him and my Mary Free Bed group figuring out how to break apart a bike and pack it for flying. I had to learn how to travel with all this equipment for the first time, which was nerve-wracking. My mom was very much a “keep your feet planted on the ground” type person, so this was nerve-wracking for her too. I still remember her sending me off at the airport. We cried happy tears. But it was amazing.

One of the biggest things I always say throughout my whole journey is that I’m as successful as I am because of the team behind the team. Cycling, running, swimming — they’re often seen as individual sports. People see the athlete on TV and think, “They’re so strong. They work so hard.” But what it takes to get that athlete to the start line is because of all the supporters they have — mentally, physically, emotionally, financially. Sponsors, family, friends, mentors, peers — all of it. That’s been true for me from the very minute I stepped into adaptive sport. I got myself into it because of the people around me pushing me and believing in me. And then, at the same time, I was also newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I’ve been diabetic for about five years now, and at that first World Cup and World Championships, I was still very new to diabetes and figuring everything out. One of my races, I actually raced low blood sugar the entire race — in the 40s. And we were like, “This is not good.” I can’t feel my low blood sugars. I never have been able to. So we were relying on my continuous glucose monitor while also trying to figure out manual readings and all of that. And obviously when I’m racing, I can’t do manual readings. So we finished the race, checked my blood sugar, and realized I’d been in the 40s. It was a huge eye-opener.

I was learning how to race internationally, travel, manage my spinal cord injury, and also manage diabetes. Thankfully, I’ve been part of Team Novo Nordisk for almost four years now, and they’ve been a huge support. The diabetes community alone has helped me so much. When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I took it very seriously because uncontrolled diabetes can be dangerous, especially on top of a spinal cord injury. So we kept learning and adjusting every day. And eventually, we started working toward the Paris Paralympics.

The Road to Paris

Kate Brim

2023 was probably my busiest year of racing. I was feeling really strong. I had gotten onto my carbon bike, which was fully fitted to me. The first bike I raced on was actually a loaner bike from my friend Nick, so it wasn’t really built for me, but it got the job done. The carbon bike was the first bike fully adapted to my body and disability. I have a really unique shifting and braking setup. I brake with my elbow, and then I shift with two buttons that rest behind my ear. To go into an easier gear, I move my head left. To go into a harder gear, I move my head right. All of that had to be engineered because my hands are clipped into my cranks when I pedal, and I don’t have the hand function to press buttons or brake levers. So we figured all that out.

Then it became the year of Paris. I told myself the biggest thing I had to do was stay healthy. And then about two weeks before our final Paralympic qualifying race, I was on a long ride, got off my bike, and noticed the whole back end of my bike was cracked. The carbon fiber was cracked end to end. And I hadn’t even had the bike a year. I called Carbon Bike, and they initially told me how much it would cost to get a new frame. I was like, “That’s not an option. I have to race in less than two weeks.” So I started calling repair companies all over Colorado. Nobody would touch it because they said that was essentially the spine of the bike. Thankfully, I found a prosthetics company through a triathlon friend that used epoxy to repair the bike enough to get me through. Then I boarded the plane to the race, and our director called me and said: “Come prepared to race, but there’s a very likely chance your bike won’t pass bike check.”

Bike check is where they inspect our bikes to make sure they’re safe and legal. And that whole flight, I was just shivering. When we landed and got in the rental car, I finally told my mom. We both just sat there like, “Crap.” Again, I had to trust the system. I’d done what I could do. Race day showed up, and I have never been more nervous in my life. I parked my bike in bike check, and of course they immediately started messing with the repaired area. Normally it’s a quick inspection.

This time, they were really looking at it. It felt like the longest seconds of my life. I could see our mechanics watching from the sidelines just waiting for the answer. Finally, they told me: “We’re going to let you race today, but for any future races, you need a new frame.” That was a huge pill to swallow. But I looked at the clock and realized I had 30 seconds before my start time.

So I just swallowed it and raced. I raced my heart out. Then we had to wait a couple days for the Paralympic selection committee to announce the team. My mom, her friend, and I were driving to dinner when I got the call. My director congratulated me and told me I’d made the Paris Paralympic roster. And I couldn’t even process it. All I could think about was the bike. The first thing out of my mouth was, “What do we do about my bike?” Thankfully, our director Ian had all the right connections. He immediately got to work getting a new frame ordered. We had less than a month before our Paralympic training camp. And then, two days after getting home, I woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever. I ended up being admitted to the hospital with a serious kidney infection. I was there for over two weeks. It was scary.

And meanwhile, all the bike stuff was happening behind the scenes. They got the new frame ordered and transferred all my custom equipment over to it. I lost nearly 15 pounds in those two weeks. It was bad. But again, I leaned on my team. Eventually, they discharged me, and we headed to Mallorca for training camp.

We took everything day by day. I still wasn’t feeling 100 percent. I was dealing with GI issues and nausea and discomfort. But the team around me was incredible. They kept building my confidence and believing in me. Then Paris came. Opening ceremonies. Racing. My first event was the time trial, and I was very nervous. In time trials, we use a follow car with an earpiece so our coach or director can talk to us during the race. That day it was Ian behind me. I told him, “Just keep me going.” And that’s exactly what he did. He had complete confidence in me. I raced my heart out and won gold in the time trial.

It was probably one of the most cherished medals I’ve ever received because of everything I’d been through. A few days later, we had the team relay. Two of the three of us on the relay team came into Paris injured or sick. Matt had a severe foot injury, and I was still recovering from illness. But we all went out there and gave it everything we had and secured bronze. That relay was one of the most meaningful races I’ve ever been part of.

Resilience Beyond Disability

Elizabeth Montavon

You would never know just by looking at those medals everything that went into them. And I love that you keep emphasizing that this is not an individual sport. Now, something I’d love to know from your perspective: when media talks about Paralympians and resilience, it often focuses entirely on the disability. But your story alone shows how many different layers of resilience there really are. How would you like media to speak about your resilience as a Paralympian?

Kate Brim

That’s something I’ve worked really hard to share through my social media — the behind-the-scenes side of racing. Racing is both a privilege and an honor. I love racing and being competitive, but the main reason I race is to show myself and others what’s truly possible. Despite disabilities and circumstances, there’s still so much possibility.

One thing I love about the Olympics and Paralympics is that every athlete has an incredible story. We’re not the NBA or NFL making millions of dollars. Most Olympic and Paralympic athletes are working side jobs, hustling for sponsorships, trying to access resources, all while representing their countries. That’s a huge reason why the Paralympics are so powerful. Every athlete is showing up despite daily struggles and battles. And it’s important to understand what all goes into showing up on that start line.

Elizabeth Montavon

Absolutely. That’s the point of a show like this — hearing all the context we otherwise would never know, even if we watched you compete in Paris. So you walk away with a gold and a bronze. What happened after that?

Life After Paris

Kate Brim

I got hit really hard with the post-Games blues. After Paris, I also had World Championships. I stayed in Europe for about a month and a half total. But when I got home, I was still dealing with complications from the kidney infection. I was having a lot of GI issues, and eventually we discovered I had gastroparesis and intestinal dysmotility. My GI tract basically wasn’t functioning properly. I became severely malnourished. We started with a feeding tube and tried to make that work.

Eventually, my doctors told me I needed to consider TPN — total parenteral nutrition — where nutrition goes directly into your bloodstream through a central line. It’s very dangerous and very high-risk. And I was not ready to hear that.

Then at World Championships in Belgium, I ended up having a severe low blood sugar where I became unresponsive and ended up in the ICU. Once I got back to the U.S., we realized my body was completely depleted. I had no glycogen stores left. That was really eye-opening. I wanted to keep racing, but the team told me it wasn’t safe. That was extremely hard.

As athletes, if you’re not performing, there’s always fear around benefits, insurance, funding. I was terrified. Eventually, I started TPN. And when I was first introduced to it, they told me the average life expectancy on TPN is five to seven years. That was terrifying. I was 27 years old. But one thing I’ve always lived by since my injury is that I just want to live life to the fullest with what I have. That message became even stronger.

The bike is my happiness. It’s how I show up for myself. For the first three to four months on TPN, I couldn’t ride. I dealt with complications, including becoming so anemic that I needed three blood transfusions. Eventually, we slowly started reintroducing me to the bike. It was a huge mental battle. But over time, we realized my body may have been dealing with these GI issues for years.

Since starting TPN, I’m actually the healthiest I’ve ever been. I’ve learned that while the average lifespan on TPN may be five to seven years, there are outliers. And thankfully, because of my lifestyle and the way I manage things, I’m on a good trajectory. Now I’m back on the bike. I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. And my first race back was in Thailand.

Traveling with TPN was a whole different challenge. For an 11-day trip, I had six huge boxes of medical supplies covering my entire living room. It ended up being 95 pounds of luggage just for my TPN supplies. I basically traveled with two casual outfits and two race kits. But we made it work. And the trip ended up being amazing. I felt incredible. I managed a full podium sweep — gold in the relay, time trial, and road race. That race meant so much to me because it represented my comeback. Now we’re preparing for Italy, and then the biggest event of the season: World Championships on U.S. soil in Huntsville, Alabama.

I also just received my diabetic alert dog, Sabako. He’s already alerting me to highs and lows. This season feels like a whole new chapter. The doors are opening again. And none of it would be possible without my support system.

Living Life to the Fullest

Elizabeth Montavon

Kate, I feel like you’re not giving yourself enough credit. You are such an outlier in every sense of the word. Every time life throws a new curveball at you, you find a way to grow through it. I feel like if the Kate who won the Paralympics was Kate Brim 2.0, we’re about to see Kate Brim 3.0. Your story is truly incredible.

Kate Brim

One of the things I’ve always lived by since my injury is that we can either sit in perpetual sadness and sorrow, or we can take those struggles and grow with them. We can use them as the kick in the butt we need to keep going. Despite the circumstances, the sky’s the limit. Just keep going and lean on the people around you. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing.

Elizabeth Montavon

You are so incredible. I’m a Kate Brim fan for life, and I think anybody who listens to this will be too. Before we wrap up, we have to go to our final segment called The Last Lap. Kate, if you, Kate Brim, were the answer to a sports trivia question, what would that trivia question be?

Kate Brim

That’s a hard one. But I think one thing I always like people to know more about is the classification system within the Paralympics. When people watch the Paralympics, they often don’t fully understand how the classification system works. The system exists to level the playing field. It’s constantly evolving and becoming more fine-tuned every year. And it’s what allows athletes with different disabilities to compete fairly against one another. That system is a huge part of what makes the Paralympics so strong.

Elizabeth Montavon

Honestly, that’s something all of us should probably Google more often. The nuance and detail behind Paralympic sport is truly fascinating. Kate, thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Kate Brim

Thank you for having me. This was an absolute honor.