This is an online exclusive story from ESPN The Magazines Body Issue 2016. Subscribe today!?And for more from the 2016 Body Issue, check out espn.com/bodyissue,?and pick up a copy on newsstands starting July 8.Allysa Seely, the 2015 paratriathlete world champion, will be heading to Rio for the 2016 Paralympics in September. She sat down with Body Issue reporter Morty Ain to discuss her training, her love/hate relationship with her prosthetics and the many, many lessons shes learned along the way. Heres Allysa, in her own wordseople of all different abilities can compete at the highest level of sport. You dont need to have two legs or two arms. I want to help promote that.I think theres still a big stigma around disability, especially disabled sports. A lot of times people confuse the Paralympics with the Special Olympics. You just dont sign up to go to the Paralympics. You have to qualify just like Olympians do, and it takes years of training and hard work to get to that level. I still think theres some education that needs to be done around it. Eight out of 10 times, people not involved in sports will make that mistake. The Special Olympics is a great organization, but its a participatory organization for individuals with developmental disabilities.I train seven days a week. I train two to three times a day and lift in the gym three times a week. I swim almost every day and then bike and run four to five days a week. Im training 15 to 35 hours a week. Its definitely a full-time job, because I dont want to be outworked.As a society, I think we still view individuals with different abilities as being incapable. When people think of somebody in a wheelchair or somebody with a prosthetic they think of somebody who cant take care of themselves. We still see the disability before we see the individual.People come up to me and say the craziest things. I had somebody come up and tell me that, if I had found God, he would not have maimed you. Another time -- and this one still makes me laugh -- I was at the gas station and this lady behind me scoffed to her teenage children, See, thats what happens when you eat crap and dont take care of yourself. I was kind of stunned. I turned around and she goes, Diabetes, huh? Um, actually not. Shes trying to lecture her kids, who are a little bit overweight, to apparently get them to have healthier eating habits. I was just like, You realize your kids can only eat what you feed them, right? Lets get that straight. And second of all, just dont assume because I have one leg that I dont take care of myself and eat crap all the time.Obviously, there are some great little kids who come up to me t. I had one the other day while I was running, and he just had the biggest eyes ever and he was like, You are so fast! I want to be fast like you one day! A lot of the times the kids get it; were still working on the adults.ON PROVING EVERYONE WRONG I was diagnosed [in 2010] with what is called Chiari II malformation, basilar invagination and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Basically, the Chiari malformation means my brain is herniated into my spinal column, so a significant amount of my cerebellum and brain stem is outside of my skull and inside my spinal column. The basilar invagination means the part that is from my skull to my spine is bent at a weird angle; it has like a kink in it. And Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a connective tissue disorder. And then the complications from those three diagnoses and the surgeries Ive had led to complications that eventually led to the amputation of my left leg below my knee.I would like to say I was a fairly accomplished athlete before this all started. My personal record for 5K, which Im very proud of, is 17:21. Then I started triathlon and was a nationally ranked athlete in age-group nationals. It kind of sounds cheesy, but when I first heard my diagnosis, I just wanted to get back to sports. It tk over a year to get a correct diagnosis and to get on the path to treatment and surgery. I wasnt able to run anymore, I wasnt able to go out with friends. So when I finally got a diagnosis, I was relieved, but then my next thought was, OK, great, what do I need to do to get back to triathlon?I was told I would be lucky if I walked unaided again. I was in the hospital and I was telling everybody that I had collegiate nationals in April -- this was in August -- and they were like, Whoa, youve got to walk first. There was a significant amount of pushback and hesitation from my doctors, nurses and physical therapists. I would have to say I dont think anyone was on board. I remember the nurses and physical therapists were betting that if I ever walked again, they would do a triathlon. So I just set out to prove them wrong.The word that I remember most prominently was realistic. I think they thought they were trying to help me move on and accept what life was going to be like. I think it made sense to them at the time.It definitely was a struggle. It was terrifying. I had gone through a year and a half of my life where I was seeing one doctor after another, being in and out of hospitals. I knew my body was rebelling and not able to do anything that I wanted it to. I was exhausted all the time. I was so relieved when I finally got a diagnosis and an option for treatment. But in rehab, I remember the feeling of nobody believing in me, and nobody standing there and saying, All right, were going to get there! There were times I just wanted to break down and cry, but I didnt want to do it in front of them because I felt like I couldnt show any weakness, I couldnt show them that there was even a doubt in my mind that I wasnt going to be able to do this.I had surgery in the beginning of August in 2010, and I competed in a triathlon in collegiate nationals in April of 2011. So just about eight months. By no means was it the fastest race in my life, but to this day crossing that finish line was probably one of the most rewarding experiences. I can still remember how it felt to accomplish something that nobody thought I could.ONE FT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER When your brain is affected, a lot of your body is affected t. There are a significant number of complications that have come with my condition. Obviously, the leg is the most difficult, but I have impairment in almost all of the muscles in my body. I lack something called proprioception -- thats where your brain is able to tell where your body is in space. So when youre walking without lking down, you know your left ft is in front or your right ft is in front. I dont have that in my legs at all. When Im walking, and especially when Im racing, youll see me lk down quite frequently to make sure that I know where my legs are. On the bike when Im making turns, I have to lk down to make sure that I know which ft is up so that I dont hit my pedal on the ground.My condition has also led to epilepsy. Theres a lot of autonomic nervous system issues, given that the part of my brain that is damaged controls all of my autonomic functions, so your bld pressure, your heart rate, your digestive system, your sweating ... I have a lot of issues with that kind of stuff as well.The biggest challenge is the unpredictable nature of a neurological condition. For a lot of people, all they see is my amputation; they dont see the challenges in and out of every day. Last year alone, I was in the hospital for over a month throughout the year. Sometimes I have great days, and other days my body just doesnt want to cperate. On a physical level thats obviously hard -- losing training time, losing fitness and all of that. But its almost more difficult mentally: This is what your competitors are doing, and youre stuck here and your brain isnt working. Every morning, I dont know what Im going to get when I wake up, but I just have to figure out a way around it.MAKING ADJUSTMENTS, FINDING STRENGTH I have to laugh whenever someone says athletes with prosthetics have an unfair advantage. Initially when I started racing, people would be like, Great for you! But as sn as I started to get faster and I started to win races, peoples perspective on it changed. All of a sudden it went from Youre doing so great! to This is not fair. That gives you an unfair advantage. I have to say that while the prosthetic lets me do what I want to do, its not the same as a ft. And it probably will never act 100 percent as a ft. All the research agrees that prosthetics are great, but they dont offer what an anatomically correct ft can to an athlete.Any time the prosthetic doesnt fit it can be painful. Being an athlete, your body changes frequently -- you go up in weight, you go down in weight, you add muscle, you lose muscle, all depending on your training phases. The fit is very, very specific, so at dinner, eating a little t much salt can cause my limb to swell, and the next morning I cant get my leg on. Over time, as Ive gotten more fit, my leg has gotten smaller, and we had to make new prosthetic legs. Its something you have to get used to, it changes. Obviously, at a race you want to be able to trust in it 100 percent, you want to know how its going to react and respond, so when you have to change some of them it can become a little shaky. But at the same time prosthetics have come so far. I tell little kids who have never seen a prosthetic that I can do everything that I could do before, so thats something that Im really grateful for.Back when I was in that awkward adolescent phase, my list of what I would have changed about my body was a lot longer than what it is now. After all of the struggles I had been through, I realized how precious my body really was. I realized my body was doing things a lot of people didnt think were possible. It was coming through for me when nobody else was, and I think thats really when I learned to appreciate it and appreciate all the quirks and flaws. I think it tk awhile to realize how everything I went through gave me strength. For a long time it felt like it really tore me down, but then when I got on the other side of the tunnel I have been able to draw on those experiences.Cheap Air Max 97 Australia .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Cheap Air Max 97 Sale . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. http://www.airmax97cheapaustralia.com/ . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shtout for the Marlies (25-13-4). Cheap Air Max 97 Online .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Buy Air Max 97 Australia . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend.LOS ANGELES -- Sam Darnold, both head coaches and everybody else in the Coliseum thought Darnolds wobbly pass was about to become Southern Californias fifth turnover.Everybody except Darreus Rogers, who simply went up and over Colorado cornerback Ahkello Witherspn to steal it for a spectacular 46-yard gain .I never thought it was going to be a pick, Rogers said. Those are the plays I need to make that will separate me as a player. I had to make that play for my teammates.A few minutes later, the Trojans seized a victory they felt rightfully belonged to them, t.Tyler Petite caught his second touchdown pass with 8:28 to play on a drive extended by Rogers heroics, and USC overcame four turnovers to beat No. 21 Colorado 21-17 on Saturday.Daniel Imatorbhebhe also caught a TD pass from Darnold, who passed for 358 yards and three scores along with two fumbles and an interception. USC (3-3, 2-2 Pac-12) shredded one of the nations top defenses for 539 yards, but Colorados takeaways kept an otherwise one-sided game close.All Pac-12 wins seem hard, especially when you turn the ball over like we did, USC coach Clay Helton said.After dominating for long stretches ruined by turnovers, the Trojans finally made their own breaks. Adoree Jackson made a jaw-dropping, one-fted interception , but the game turned on Rogers unbelievable effort.I thought Ahkello had a pick, Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said. It was right in front of us. He goes over and pulls it out of his hands, and it was a great play by their receiver. When the kid threw it, I thought, `Im glad he threw it. I think we got us another pick. And then all of a sudden, what a great play.Helton also was sure Darnolds pass would be intercepted by Witherspn.He had two hands on it, and I had one hand, Rogers said. I felt like if I tucked it in faster, I could take it off of his hands. I wanted it more.After Petites tiebreaking score , Colorado (4-2, 2-1) kicked a field goal with 4:49 left, but the Trojans clly ran out the clock. JuJu Smith-Schuster slid to the turf with a clear lane to the end zone and 1:15 to play, allowing USC to kneel it out.In the Buffaloes first game as a ranked team since Nov.dddddddddddd7, 2005, receiver Bryce Bobo threw a 67-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and caught a tying TD pass with 10:20 to play.WINLESS WOESColorado fell to 0-11 in schl history against USC in a rivalry dating to 1927.Somehow, some way, weve got to get USC, MacIntyre said. Were 0-fer right now. Weve got to get that off our back. Well do that eventually.DAVIS DOWNJustin Davis rushed for 83 yards before leaving with a high ankle sprain early in the second half for USC. Davis left the stadium on crutches.QB MOVESSteven Montez passed for 197 yards in the freshmans third straight start. Colorado career passing leader Sefo Liufau also played briefly, but he cant run much on his injured ankle, MacIntyre said.Today was just a testament to how much work we have left, Montez said. Its a humbling experience to show that we werent what we thought we are, and have so much work to do. I think it will help us in the long run. It will keep us hungry and get us focused.POLL IMPLICATIONSColorado: The Buffaloes return to the AP Top 25 after an 11-year absence could be over after one week after losing to a .500 opponent, but theyll have a chance to return quickly.THE TAKEAWAYColorado: The Buffaloes have plenty of work to do if they want to stay on top of the Pac-12 South standings. USC exposed deficiencies on both sides of the ball, but the Buffs opportunistic defense kept it close and suggested that this long-downtrodden program can hang with anybody.USC: After going 1/3 in a brutal September schedule, USC has been largely outstanding against two Pac-12 opponents in October. Helton surely will emphasize ball security in the upcoming week, because its the only thing that kept this win from being a second straight blowout of a division foe.UP NEXTColorado: The Buffs are back in Boulder to host Arizona State in another key Pac-12 South showdown.USC: The Trojans head out for their only road game of October, traveling to Arizona.---AP college ftball website: tball.ap.org" target="_blank">www.collegeftball.ap.org ' ' '