Tag Archives: Champion Athletes With Diabetes

Congratulations Ryan Reed.

February 23, 2015 – 10:22 am

I got to interview NASCAR Xfinity series driver Ryan Reed last year, and to be honest, it wasn’t that great an interview. We were both pressed for time, and though I got my questions answered, it wasn’t a great experience. That’s the way it goes sometimes. He did send me this cool photo:
Reed

Now the good news: Ryan Reed, one of our Champion Athletes With Diabetes medal winners, was the winner of the Florida 300 at Daytona International Speedway Saturday.

Ryan got a little help from teammate and second-place finisher Chris Buescher, went around Brad Keselowski on the final lap, and got his first series win on the biggest stage in his sport.

Afterward, as he climbed out of his car and answered the first question from an interviewer, he had this to say:

“Four years ago I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, thought I would never drive a race car again, and now I’m standing in Victory Lane at Daytona…”

He also managed to say this:

“This is not only for me and my family, but every kid that gets diagnosed with diabetes – or anything that says you can’t do something. Just go out there, overcome it, win it, and do the best you can.”

To me, that’s worth more than my crummy interview.

We all have our chance to advocate for others living with and affected by diabetes. Ryan Reed got that chance before a national audience Saturday night, and he took advantage of it. And I’m grateful.

He’ll be advocating again on Saturday in Atlanta.

Here’s a look at the final two laps, plus the beginning of his interview just after the race:

 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Athletes With Diabetes | Also tagged , | Comments (1)

Saturday’s Champion Athlete With Diabetes: Will the basketball star.

January 10, 2015 – 3:45 pm

It’s time for one more… one more inspiring, feel-good story this week about an athlete living with diabetes and chasing their athletic dreams.
Champion-Athletes-With-Diabetes-Medal
Today’s athlete, like so many others this week, is a young person, diagnosed as a young person. Will has been living with Type 1 diabetes since he was 5 1/2 years old. Now he’s eight years old and playing on his first basketball team! His Mom, Angie Herbrand of suburban Madison, Wisconsin had this to say back in December:

“He LOVES playing sports, especially basketball. Example – a friend gave him a LeBron James jersey for his birthday last week. He has worn that jersey seven days in a row. Yep, seven. He’s always got a basketball in his hand. Even when he doesn’t have a ball handy, he’ll jog down the hall perfecting his shot with a make-believe basketball.

Yesterday he tried out for his first basketball league, and he rocked it. He is so excited to start playing!”

Will made a long shot during his tryout that none of the other kids were able to make.

And that’s not all… Angie told me later that Will participated in basketball and mountain biking day camps this past summer, and a snowboarding camp in December. Shout Out: Those events were specifically for Type 1 kids, provided by Riding on Insulin and Slam Dunk for Diabetes. Yay diabetes fitness organizations!

Congratulations Will! Pursuing your athletic goals is great for you, and hearing how much fun you’re having makes me even happier to call you a Champion Athlete With Diabetes.
 
 
Don’t forget: If you’re like Will, achieving athletic goals while living with diabetes, or if someone close to you is doing that, click here or on the image of the medals in the upper left of this page, and we’ll get started on your medal today.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Athletes With Diabetes | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Champion Athlete With Diabetes: Lucas, the Miami Racer.

January 9, 2015 – 9:37 am

All this week I’ve been profiling our newest Champion Athlete With Diabetes medal winners. If you haven’t already, please take a moment and read about the others. Go ahead… check them out! Don’t worry… this will still be here when you get back. In addition to those, there’s a medal winner I want to talk about today, and one more tomorrow.
 
 
Lucas is ten years old, and lives in Miami. He’s been living with Type 1 diabetes since he was 3 (sigh). In the past year, Lucas started running. And what a runner he is!

He joined a group down there called the Miami Milers, a kids running club. In addition to training with them, he’s participated in a series of 5K runs, including at least two in the past two months. He’s running them around 26:08. That’s faster than I ran my last 5K. It’s a little over eight minutes per mile, folks. For a ten year old. But that’s not all.

His Mom, Jessica Perez, has this to add:

”He also is an avid cyclist, every month we cycle for the City of Miami Beach, a 15 mile bike ride. Lucas is a perfect candidate to receive your medal. He will also be doing his first Duathlon in February of next year. He feels very driven and proud of himself to complete more than the average task for a boy his age living with Type 1 Diabetes.”

Well, he is certainly doing that, Jessica. You can just tell that Lucas doesn’t let diabetes, or anything else, slow him down. He’s the kind of athlete that we all cheer for: Driven, determined, great story, overcomes his most difficult challenges.

Lucas… Congratulations on your athletic achievements! You’re an inspiration to people living with diabetes everywhere. An inspiration. Here’s to many more miles on the road, either running or biking, throughout the year.
 
 
Five medal winners this week… one more tomorrow… twenty-five in all so far. Do you want to be next? If you, or the special person in your life has been reaching their athletic goals while living with diabetes too, you should click here to find out more, and send me an e-mail today.
 
 
 

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Today’s Champion Athlete With Diabetes: Emily.

January 8, 2015 – 8:58 am

Teenager Emily from Saginaw, Michigan (it’s 13 degrees there right now—yikes!) has a unique distinction among our Champion Athletes With Diabetes.

She’s our first swimmer!

Emily just finished her second season swimming for her high school team, and if they swim around the same time of year that we did when I swam on my high school team in Ohio, her third season should be coming up soon.

According to her Mom Karyn:

”Not a day went by that she didn’t improve by dropping seconds of her best times. Never a day that she would hide her pod or let diabetes interfere. She is my hero.”

Is it just me, or are kids more loud and proud and accomplishing more than all of us adults living with diabetes? Let me tell you: Swimming is hard. To be consistently good, you have to consistently be in the pool, doing laps, day after day, month after month.

The payoff, of course, is great muscle tone and awesome, efficient use of insulin. But to get there, you can’t be half-hearted. You have to really commit to working hard on a regular basis. As a former competitive swimmer myself, I understand just how big Emily’s accomplishments really are.

Congratulations Emily! Your hard work, your fearlessness, and your dedication set an excellent example for others, and it makes you a most worthy Champion Athlete With Diabetes.
 
 
If you’re living with diabetes, and you’re active; or if someone close to you is living with D and is active, we’ve got an honest-to-goodness medal we’d like to award you.

There are only four simple things to do to get yours:

1. The athlete receiving the award must be living with diabetes.

2. The athletic event must have taken place in the last six months. For now, we’re going with a pretty loose interpretation of the word “event”. If you feel you’ve accomplished something important to you, that’s an event. ‘Nuf said.

3. Send me an e-mail at champswithdiabetes@gmail.com. Tell me your name, name of the athlete (it’s okay if it’s you), and your address (gotta know where to send the medal). Most important, tell me what athletic goal was accomplished, and when. Extra points if you tell me how you felt accomplishing the goal. Full disclosure: I reserve the right to use your testimonial here, on Twitter, and on Facebook. I will not use your name if you don’t want me to. As always, I will never share private information.

4. When you receive your medal, it would be great if you post a photo of it around the athlete’s neck. You can send a Tweet to @ChampsWithD (hashtag: #champdathletes) or post it on the Champion Athletes With Diabetes Facebook Page.

I think D-Athletes are amazing. If it’s a big deal to you, it’s a big deal to me too. I want to support you, or support the Athlete With Diabetes in your life.
Click here to find out more.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Athletes With Diabetes | Also tagged | Comments (0)

Adrian, with the heart of a Champion Athlete With Diabetes.

January 7, 2015 – 1:10 pm

I received an e-mail last month from Janette Fernandez in Miami. The subject of the e-mail was:

My Little Champion

How can you not love a headline like that? I just knew this was going to be a good story. And it is.
Champion-Athletes-With-Diabetes-Medal
Adrian was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was just two years old. That was ten years ago. He recently turned 12, and his dedication to working out, staying fit, and achieving his athletic goals is very Champion-like. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve read about yet. In Janette’s words:

”He practiced TKD (Tae Kwon Do) for many years after his dx. Now that he is in middle school he found out that he loves running. He participated on the XC (Cross Country) team for his school. He is not the fastest kid for sure, but he works really hard to be better every day. He also does Crossfit, and he comes to work out every day with me at 6 am. He is committed to be strong and there is not one day where he ever put D as an excuse.”

Last November, Adrian completed his local Battlefrog Series event (look it up) at historic Virginia Key Beach Park, where he participated twice (twice!) in a race with 27 obstacles. Oh yeah, he’s a tough guy all right. Tae Kwon Do? Cross Country? Crossfit workouts at six in the morning? I’d settle for half of Adrian’s accomplishments to date.

Way to go, Adrian. You’ve got the body, heart, and soul of a Champion Athlete With Diabetes.
 
 
Okay, that’s three so far this week… and there are still three more to tell you about. Want to add your name to the list? If you’re achieving athletic goals while living with diabetes, or someone close to you fits that description, click here to find out how to get your medal minted today.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Athletes With Diabetes | Also tagged , | Comments (2)