(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- One local Paralympic champion is getting ready for another try for the gold this summer in Paris.
Glen Ellyn's Ahalya Lettenberger already took silver in the 200-meter individual medley at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.
“It was the best experience of my life, for sure. It was just crazy to be there surrounded by the best athletes in the world, and to be able to be a part of an event that huge. There really is nothing like it,” she told WBBM Newsradio’s Rick Gregg recently.
Lettenberger is in the pool eight times a week and in the gym three days, too, in an effort to qualify again.
She was born with arthrogryposis, a musculoskeletal disorder that affects her lower body. Swimming, she says, gives her "a freedom that I can’t really find anywhere else."
“I feel like I’ve always wanted to kind of show people what’s possible, in that my disability doesn’t hold me back -- proving people wrong, or just achieving anything I want to achieve,” Lettenberger said.
Lettenberger medaled at last year's World Championships in Manchester, England. Whether she qualifies for Paris or not, she'll be back in Europe this year.
She has a major meet in Italy and graduate school in the United Kingdom, where she'll study sports biomechanics. She hopes to be a part of developing new, assistive technology that can help people with disabilities.
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