On September 13, 2017, less than two weeks after her wedding, 21-year-old Lindi Marcusen’s life was changed forever. That Wednesday morning Lindi was involved in a head-on collision with a Ford F350 towing a backhoe. Her little car didn’t stand a chance as it was torn in half. Lindi’s right leg was amputated at the scene, she suffered a traumatic brain injury, and the rest of her body was battered and broken. The doctors weren’t sure if she was going to make it, but Lindi is a fighter.
After weeks in the ICU, months in the hospital, and many miracles, Lindi was finally well enough to go home to Spokane, Washington where she began the grueling journey of physical therapy. She had to learn how to walk again. How to get up and sit down. How to function and be able to live her life. It was tough.
It was during these grueling months of physical therapy that Lindi was introduced to the idea of the Paralympics and competing, and this gave her hope. Lindi had been a high-level gymnast from elementary school through high school and had competed in body-building competitions while in college, so Lindi was really drawn to the idea of participating in athletic competitions at a high level. First, she just needed to learn how to walk.
With grit and determination, Lindi learned how to walk again. Then she got special prosthetics and learned how to run and to long jump. It was a long road, but since Lindi had grown up spending hours every day pushing her body to the extremes, driving herself seemed natural. And she loved it.
Lindi joined ParaSport Spokane and started competing in events. And she kept getting better as she pushed her limits. In 2022, Lindi became the T63 National Long Jump Champion. In 2023 Lindi became the National Champion in the T63 100-meter sprint and the Long Jump silver medalist. Then in 2024 Lindi set the American record in the T63 100-meter on her way to qualifying for the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Lindi’s record time for the 100-meter sprint was 14.95 seconds, a far cry from the 44 seconds that she ran in her first 100-meter race. And she’s still pushing. She has her sights set on breaking the world record next. She’ll have a shot at it at the Paris Paralympics games.
“Instead of building the destination, build yourself for the journey. You can’t ever rely on knowing what will come your way, but what you can rely on is building the skills to emotionally, mentally, and physically adapt to find yourself in a grounded state connected to your Divine Power.” Lindi Marcusen
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