Brandon Lyons on His Journey From Paralysis to the Paralympics

EP #304 -This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Brandon Lyons, Team USA Paralympic Athlete, Fortune 100 Assistant Director, Speaker and iFit Trainer as we discuss His Journey From Paralysis to the Paralympics.

On May 24, 2014, Lyons dove into shallow water breaking his T5/T6 vertebrae and leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Lyons quickly took on this new challenge and returned to work at EY just four months after his accident, and even completed a marathon just five months after the date of his injury. 

He relocated to San Diego in 2016 to be closer to an advanced rehabilitation gym, which is where he found his passion for handcycling. He was introduced to former Ironman world champion David Bailey, and the two would ride the coast of southern California together as Bailey pushed Lyons to go faster. 

In March 2017, Lyons would be invited to a tryout at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center to earn a spot in the residence program. Lyons was awarded a spot as the first handcyclist in the residence program and would relocate to Colorado Springs, Colorado exactly three years after the date of his injury on May 24, 2017. Lyons made his first national team in 2019 and continues to work for EY in Business Intelligence.