U.S. Paralympic track sprinter and jumper

Scout is a competitive U.S. Paralympic track sprinter, jumper, and passionate spokesperson for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. She is a 3x US Champion in the 100m sprint, 100m and 200m American Record holder, 400m World Record holder, and a serious contender for the 2016 Paralympic Games.

The Past

When Scout was only an infant, a fire took away her right leg from above the knee down. Shortly after this incident, she was found as an abandoned infant on the streets of Nanjing, China and taken to the government orphanage. Inside these isolating walls, she lived in extremely harsh conditions and endured several heart-wrenching years of trauma and anguish.

At the age of 7, Scout was adopted by an American family. It was difficult growing up as the only amputee in a small northern Michigan town of 1,600 people, but she soon discovered that sports could help her transcend the social and cultural barriers she was struggling with.

The Runner

Scout’s breakthrough came at the age of 14 when she was introduced to the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and met renowned prosthetist Stan Patterson. Shortly after this introduction, Scout ran for the first time and participated in her first Paralympic event at the Track and Field World Championships.

Watching other physically challenged athletes pursue their dreams, Scout was confident that if others could do it, she could, too. “Nothing compares to the exhilarating feeling of being able to move,” she said. “It wasn’t about being first, it was about seeing what was possible.”

In 2007, Scout enrolled at UCLA on a full-ride academic scholarship. 4 years later, she returned to China for the first time since her adoption to compete in the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships.

In pursuit of her Paralympic dreams, Scout competed at the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Track and Field London Trials, where she placed 2nd in the 200m and 3rd in the 100m. Scout is a 3-time National Champion in the 100m and two-time runner up in the long jump. She is currently the World Record holder in the 400m and American Record holder in the 100m and 200m. Prior to competing in track, Scout was on the USA Paratriathlon National Team, where she won 3 silver medals and 1 bronze medal at the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships.

The Future

Today, Scout is a competitive U.S. Paralympic track sprinter and passionate spokesperson for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. In addition to helping other challenged athletes pursue their dreams, she is rigorously training for her latest goal – competing in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. “We all have different challenges: some external, some internal,” said Scout. “But it’s not how we start, it’s how we finish that counts.”