Emily Lopez

Age: 19
Education: Sophomore at SUNY Geneseo
Parents: Michael Lopez and Betsy Timoney
Hometown: Clifton Park
Hero Athlete: American Olympic track and field athlete Tara Davis-Woodhall

Living Fearless

In conversation with some friends, one asked, “Hey Emily what hand do you write with?” Emily stopped, laughed, and said, “the only one I have.” Emily Lopez was born without a right hand and elbow, but truly the first thing you notice about her is her smile. Her parents Michael Lopez and Betsy Timoney raised her to believe she was just like everyone else, “no special treatment, no babying, and no excuses.” She and her friends see her as “one of the girls.” It isn’t surprising that Emily never thought about competing outside of the general sports. She tried out gymnastics, soccer, skiing, taekwondo, and track and field. It was track and field that fueled her soul. 

As a kid she received valuable support from Shriner’s Hospital. Prosthetics helped in elementary school with tasks like grabbing and holding things, but because she doesn’t have an elbow Emily now finds it ‘easier’ to just use her arm. STRIDE Adaptive Sports, based in West Sand Lake, is an organization that has a number of programs to “educate and empower individuals with disabilities in life-changing sport and recreation programs to sustain healthy, active and fun lifestyles.” It was through one of their programs that Emily learned to ski.

According to her dad, Emily’s greatest strength “is her belief that she can do anything. However, she is a realist and knows it may take her a little longer to figure out how to do something but, in the end, she will figure it out. When she was younger, I would always make her think something through step by step before starting any activity. This early critical thinking skill has worked in all of her endeavors.” It’s a big reason that she enjoys track and field. As a jumper and sprinter, she needs to master the technical aspects of each discipline and then work on speed, height, and distance. It was in eighth grade that Emily decided to focus on track and field, but it wasn’t until a high school meet when Sherman Hart, a coach out of Boston who has coached a few Paralympians, asked if Emily knew about Paralympic opportunities. This opened new doors for her. 

At age 17, Emily went to the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Games in Portugal where she says she “met different athletes from all over the world and learned their stories, as well as created friendships with athletes on Team USA. Portugal was such a wonderful time and showed me that you can have fun as well as compete well at big competitions.” She came home from those games with three gold medals and a silver. A year later she headed to Santiago, Chile for the Parapan American Games. Emily says, “It was definitely a larger scale than IWAS, with fans in the stands. Some fans came up to ask for a picture after I competed. Although I didn’t perform as well as I would have liked, Santiago definitely opened my eyes to the impact I can have on the younger generation, especially kids with disabilities.” 

This summer, just a month before turning 19, Emily competed in Florida at the Paralympic Trials. This was yet another level – competing against and with Paralympians! Hunter Woodhall (whose wife Tara Davis-Woodhall won gold in long jump at the Paris 2024 Olympics) ran while Emily was long jumping. Hunter won a bronze medal in the Men’s 400m T62 at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo and is headed to Paris this month. Emily knew she would have to have a big PR to make the Paris Games, but she got to work as soon as her spring season finished at Geneseo.

Emily not only competes at international meets in the T45-47 classification* (upper limb/s affected by limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement), but also at the NCAA level. As a first-year student at SUNY Geneseo, Emily found a new tribe. *This classification determines which athletes are eligible to compete in a sport and how those athletes are then grouped together for competition in order to minimize the impact of the athletes’ impairments on sport performance. This is done to safeguard the integrity of fair competition.

“The whole Geneseo track team has been such a great support system; I can always count on them to send me a positive message before a competition. One of my best friends, Rachel, has been one of my biggest supporters and I’m so thankful to always have her rooting for me.”

Emily started at Geneseo in the fall of 2023. “I was drawn to the school initially because of the high standard they hold themselves to in both academics and athletics. The team culture is even better than I could’ve imagined. Having a good team culture is super important especially in your freshman year, because you’re going to want to lean on your teammates when you’re adapting to an unfamiliar environment and training program.” Emily was training and competing in the fall of 2023 which flowed right into the indoor and outdoor NCAA seasons. A two-week break before training for the Paralympic Trials in July 2023 meant a solid eight months of training and competing!

I did some mindset coaching with Emily over her indoor track season and then we did work before the Trials in July. Eight months into competing, you would expect most athletes to be pretty fried! Not Emily, she was still focused and ready to put in the demanding work – both mental and physical. Emily’s maturity is an incredible asset. I agree with her dad Michael that it’s one of her greatest strengths. She is able to step back after competition and review her performance, understand what she can do to perform better, and then move on. She knew she needed to pay attention to recovery after having a meet where she felt flat. Her ability to self-reflect is commendable. Emily knows she can be at the next level, but like many Olympians she doesn’t quite fully believe she belongs there. That will change between now and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Mark my word (and her parents), for those games Emily will be on Team USA.

Most people have never watched the Paralympics. While at Ironman Lake Placid, I held a house captive watching Emily compete in Florida. After watching one event everyone was hooked. We cheered for Emily and many of the other athletes, all putting it on the line for a potential spot at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. If you are lucky enough to meet Emily, it will take you a bit to notice her disability. That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t like to garner more fans and people supporting her and other athletes who choose to compete. 

Emily thinks the best way to make more people aware is to encourage watching the Paralympic Games. Just as the able bodied athletes impressed us, you will be inspired and amazed watching Emily’s Team USA friends. Emily’s dad, Michael, was a support coach throughout her journey so far, supplementing any gaps in coaching and being at the events with, as he says, “a hefty dose of encouragement and cheering.” He adds, “the para movement definitely needs more visibility and one or two “breakout stars” that can be the face of the sport. It’s just something we don’t have yet.” I can absolutely see Emily taking on that role. As a community we need more coaches that can relate to and train athletes with disabilities. We need more events that welcome these athletes. We need more eyeballs on these athletes.

Kristen Hislop (hislopcoaching@gmail.com) is a USA Triathlon and Ironman U coach, and race director for the Delightful® Run for Women. Hislop Coaching now offers a mindset coaching program for all ages and abilities called Stronger Than Yesterday. She is a proud mother to two boys who run in college and her husband who races and volunteers at many local events.