The inspirational story of Geneva native and cancer-survivor Kevin McDowell goes on.
On Saturday (Tokyo time), McDowell brought home the silver medal in the Olympic debut of the triathlon mixed relay.
The result marks the second time in five days that McDowell has made Olympic history in the games.
With their second-place finish Saturday, he and relay teammate Morgan Pearson became the first American men to win an Olympic medal in triathlon.
Earlier this week, McDowell finished sixth in the men’s individual event, the best-ever finish by a U.S. male triathlete at the Olympics.
The Geneva native and Olympic athlete (triathlon) had his world rocked in 2011 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“My whole world was upside down where I was actually, instead of focusing on trying to win the world title, I was fighting for my life to beat cancer,” he recalled in an interview with NBC.
His doctor made a deal with him, asking him to “give me six months of your life” to beat the cancer. He took up the challenge, and won.
After his victory over cancer, McDowell went back to the triathlon, but the road wasn’t easy. The path back to being an elite athlete was strewn with disappointments, struggle and doubts.
But McDowell persevered, and has now been rewarded with a place among US Olympic greats.
