MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — A tragic accident 10 years ago did not stop Mechanicsburg native Brandon Lyons from living life to the fullest and achieving his athletic goals.
What Lyons didn't know was that his determination to recover from the 2014 accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down would lead to fulfilling a Paralympic dream he never could have imagined, a spot on the 2024 Paris Paralympics Hand Cycling team.
"I never imagined that I would be here today, especially given the journey that I was on," said Lyons. "Before my accident, [I] didn't have aspirations to do that. [I] had a different thought about what my life was going to look [like] but, these are the cards that I was dealt. [I] had an opportunity, found a passion, and just went after it."
In 2014, Lyons suffered a tragic accident when he unknowingly dove into shallow water, that resulted in a broken T5/T6 vertebrae and left him paralyzed from the chest down.
Doctors told him he had a 1% chance that he’d ever walk again but instead of giving up, he took the nearly impossible odds as a challenge.
"I tried to use this injury as a way to prove all of the doubters wrong. My mindset was, I was going to recover, I was going to get better," said Lyons. "I had a 1% chance, and that's what I was gonna hold on to. I think at that time, that was the mindset change that I needed to have to overcome this injury, accept it and move forward. I didn't want it to derail any of the success that I had previously in my life going forward."
During his rehab process, Lyons discovered hand cycling. Through fundraising efforts, he was gifted his first-hand cycle from his family when he was discharged from the hospital. Following a slight learning curve, the hand cycle soon became his outlet for independence, competition and freedom.
"I was just doing loops of City Island for 20 miles at a time and that second time, when I went from barely getting out of the driveway then to doing this 20 miles, I was like, 'I could do this,"' said Lyons. "It was a way for me to feel independence and freedom again."
Before his accident, Lyons had aspirations to one day run a marathon. Despite being paralyzed, hand cycling became a way for him to fulfill that goal. Just five months later, Lyons was set to race in his first-hand cycling marathon as part of the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC.
"I had no idea that there was an opportunity to be an athlete again," said Lyons. "I thought that those times of my life were over. So absolutely having that hand cycle, especially at that time so early on, was a saving grace."
Lyons eventually moved to California to take part in clinical stem cell treatments. He was only hand cycling recreationally at the time but that soon changed after meeting his mentor, David Bailey in San Diego.
Bailey is a former professional motocross racer who also was paralyzed from the waist down following an accident at practice.
Like Lyons, Bailey was determined to continue his sports journey and has since competed in several Ironman events. Bailey inspired Lyons to begin training in elite competitions and in 2017 his Paralympic opportunity presented itself.
The U.S. Paralympic Cycling team was looking for athletes to join its residence program based in Colorado. Lyons quickly jumped on the opportunity, applied, competed in trials and was accepted into the program.
Following quick success on the international stage, Lyons was on track to compete in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, postponed by COVID-19 to 2021.
However, his Olympic bid was put on hold after an unexpected battle with sepsis that disrupted his training and competition. In Lyon's journey of trials and tribulations, it was just another obstacle he is no stranger to taking head-on.
"If I could overcome [my injury], I could overcome anything," said Lyons. "That was kind of the mentality that I took and every single time I'm faced with adversity."
Through that determined mindset, enforced by the injury he faced 10 years ago, he bounced back even faster than before. Lyons was tasked with five cycling competitions as part of the Paralympic selection process. It came down to the last race where he needed to qualify at least second to book his ticket to the games.
After a successful final race and a stressful couple of hours as the rest of the cycling lineup finished up later, he qualified for the 2024 Paris Hand Cycling Paralympics team.
Brandon Lyons was finally a Paralympian.
"When I heard those words, it was just a roller coaster of emotions, because you just look back at where I started and that whole journey that it took to get here, just all the emotions kind of hit me all at once," said Lyons.
As Lyons reflects on his journey, he shares his appreciation for those who have supported him and sacrificed so much to get him where he is today.
"My family is my biggest supporter. I tell everyone when that injury happened, it didn't only affect my life, it affected their lives, right? I saw the sacrifices and everything that they did whenever I first was hurt," said Lyons. "To be able to have them experience my first games as well as theirs is really special."
Now with his eyes set on Paris, Lyons could not be more excited to compete on the biggest sports stage while representing his family and the community that has supported him.
"The amount of support and the messages that I've gotten, especially from the folks from Central Pennsylvania who knew my story and happened to me, to see that was amazing," said Lyons. "I'm excited that I have an opportunity to represent the 717, it means a lot to me. Honestly, it's kind of hard to put in words, because I never would have thought I would have been in any situation that would have received that amount of support, or that outcry. [I am] very proud that I'm able to represent them."
An inspiration for that community and beyond who face adversity in their paths to success.
For Lyons, it’s simple, never give up.
“Don't give up. I always think of just one quote that was very instrumental to me early on, and it was one day or day one," said Lyons. "You could just always look and say, okay, one day, right? One day I'm going to do this. One day I'm going to do that but it's changing that one day and turning it into day one, where I'm going to start right now. I think that was critical for me."
The 2024 Paris Paralympics are set to kick off on August 28. Lyons will be competing in the road and time trial events on September 4 and 5.