11/17/2009 10:34:00 PM
Taking life in everyday strides
Daughter of local couple sets her sights on the U.S. Paralympic Team
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| Draper runs a meet in San Francisco. She qualified for the World Championships held in Australia from a three hour nine minute run in the New York triathlon. Draper finished third in Australia. |
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Jessica Vretenar
Four years ago Jean Draper's dream of competing in an Olympic-distance triathlon was put on hold when she lost her leg in a freak accident. After finishing the Nautica New York City Triathlon on July 26, her dream became reality when she qualified for the world championships in Australia, Sept. 9-13.
Draper, youngest daughter of Dale and Bobbi Freres, lost her right leg in an accident four years ago, putting on hold her dreams of running an Olympic-distance marathon.
Draper was spending the afternoon at the park with her husband and 2 children, in Colorado Springs, Colo. where they lived at the time. She was getting the stroller out of the car when a driver parking behind her car mistakenly hit the gas and wrenched her between the two vehicles, severing her right foot on the spot. Her leg was amputated just below the knee.
"It was hard in the beginning, kind of surreal and a hard time grasping it and wrapping your head around it," Draper said.
Instead of falling into despair because of the accident, Draper decided to only look ahead and refuse to be unable to do everything she loved doing before.
"I think because I had two young children, at the time two and a half and three months, it didn't allow the opportunity to sit there and feel sorry for yourself," Draper said.
She was determined to run, wear high heels, and compete in the Olympic-distance triathlon.
"She was convinced she could get back to running and she just got better and better and decided to do this," said Bobbi Freres, Draper's mother and Galena resident.
After the accident, Draper transferred to Chicago to be closer to family during the recovery. She received an athletic leg to start training again, and eventually began working with a prosthetic company part-time and joined A Step Ahead, a high-tech prosthesis company in New York. Draper got a better leg and joined Team A Step Ahead, which brought her to the New York Triathlon.
"I had just joined his group this year, and done Escape to Alcatraz this year," Draper said. "You need to commit to two races with the group."
Draper went on to complete the New York triathlon in July. She finished third in three hours and nine minutes, qualifying her for the World Championships in Australia's Gold Coast.
This was the first time Draper competed an Olympic-distance triathlon, a dream she had never accomplished due to the accident.
"It was great, that race in itself was so overwhelming and very emotional," Draper said.
Draper, although suffering from an injury to her foot after running in Michigan while her husband was running a half Ironman race, decided to take on Australia and the World Championships.
Draper finished third with a time of three hours and 30 minutes.
"Australia was great," Draper said. "For me it was not my best race but the whole opportunity and everything that led up to it was great."
Draper faced her fears during the swimming portion of the triathlon. She has a fear of sharks, which she overcame to swim for the first time in salt water.
"Here we are in Australia and they're like 'yeah there are sharks' I couldn't enjoy myself because of the anxiety and fear," Draper said. "I didn't panic but it was a terrible swim."
Draper pushed through her fears to win third place at the World Championships, making her the foremost contender for a spot on the U.S. Paralympics Team.
"Right now it (paralympic triathlons) is not a national sport," Draper said. "They're putting a team together next year, and right now I'm trying to get into that."
The Olympic bodies are pushing to get paralympics as a national sport by the 2012 Olympics.
"It's exciting, it'd be nice to have opportunity to have to travel and go," Draper said.
Over winter Draper will focus on swim and bike training, an area she never officially had training for.
Draper works with a hospital and gym in Arlington Heights, and will be looking at getting into session with trainer Robbie Ventura who has trained Lance Armstrong.
"My husband pushed me into this, I've always been a runner," Draper said. "I never had the coaching (for swimming and biking) and now finishing where I finished, I have a little bug. If I get a coach, we'll see where I'll go."
Not once has Draper looked to the past, she continues to set new goals for herself without a second thought.
"I will continue with Olympic distance, I'm not ready to branch off to Ironmans," Draper said. "The next thing I need to check off is a marathon."
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