69岁海湾战争老兵 Ellie Kennedy 瞄准 LA28 残奥会：世锦赛计时赛第五，病后重返赛场
Cedars-Sinai 11月10日发布人物报道：69岁的美国队残疾人自行车公路运动员 Ellie Kennedy 正瞄准2028年洛杉矶残奥会（LA28）。她是海湾战争老兵，60多岁才开始参赛，2025年在意大利举行的世界杯赛上夺得铜牌，拿到个人首届残疾人自行车公路世锦赛的美国队席位，并在世锦赛计时赛中获得第五名，现为美国残奥自行车队成员。
Kennedy 曾在美国空军与陆军服役逾15年，其间在陆军参加了海湾战争。退役多年后她患上共济失调（ataxia），这是一种影响平衡的神经系统疾病；她后来接触到残疾人自行车并在60多岁开始比赛。她说，服役经历教她在压力下保持专注、遇障碍先想解法，这份韧性一直带到赛场上。
今年年初，她的训练被一系列复杂健康问题打断，包括严重过敏反应、肺炎与败血症。她家住亚利桑那州 Tucson 附近，在当地难以获得专科诊疗，后经美国奥委会与残奥委会医疗网络转介到 Cedars-Sinai；Cedars-Sinai 是该网络11家医疗机构之一，也是 LA28 奥运会与残奥会的官方医疗提供方。肺科专家 Isabel Pedraza 等多学科专家为她评估，判断她剧烈运动时的呼吸问题部分与声带功能障碍有关，而非此前以为的哮喘。今年夏天她又因严重的谷热（Valley fever）与肺炎住院，因此错失2026年公路世锦赛美国队席位。
如今她已重新骑上车、逐步恢复体能，目标是重返国家队与国际赛场并站上 LA28。她还说，退伍军人节不该只有一天被关注，人们对退伍军人的需要应当全年都记着。
（来源：Cedars-Sinai）
At 69, Gulf War Veteran and Team USA Para-Cyclist Ellie Kennedy Eyes the LA28 Paralympic Games
Cedars-Sinai published a profile on November 10 of Ellie Kennedy, a 69-year-old U.S. Paralympics Cycling road athlete working toward the LA28 Paralympic Games. A Gulf War veteran who began racing in her 60s, Kennedy earned a bronze medal at a World Cup in Italy in 2025, securing a spot on the U.S. team for her first Para-Cycling World Road Championships, where she finished fifth in the time trial. She is now a member of the U.S. Paralympics Cycling team.
Kennedy served more than 15 years in the U.S. Air Force and Army, including Army service during the Gulf War. Years after leaving the military she developed ataxia, a neurological condition that affects balance, and eventually discovered para-cycling. She credits her military training with teaching her to stay focused and solve problems under pressure.
Earlier this year her training was interrupted by serious health problems including severe allergic reactions, pneumonia and sepsis. Living near Tucson, Arizona, she struggled to access specialty care and was connected with Cedars-Sinai through the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Medical Network; Cedars-Sinai is one of 11 institutions in the network and the Official Medical Provider of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Specialists including pulmonologist Isabel Pedraza evaluated her and suspected some exercise breathing symptoms previously attributed to asthma were related to vocal cord dysfunction. Over the summer she was hospitalized with a severe case of Valley fever and pneumonia, which cost her a spot on the 2026 world championship team.
She is riding again and rebuilding strength toward a return to the national team and international competition, with LA28 as her goal. She also said veterans' needs should be a focus every day of the year, not only on Veterans Day.
(Source: Cedars-Sinai)
来源：Cedars-Sinai
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：2024年残疾人自行车公路世锦赛比赛资料图（苏黎世），非 Kennedy 本人。照片经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: File photo of the 2024 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich, not of Kennedy herself. Via Wikimedia Commons.
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