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Kirsten Sass, Amy Dixon to Compete in Tokyo Paralympics

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McKENZIE (July 6) — Fresh from the news of her qualification in the 2021 U.S. Paralympic Triathlon Team sat McKenzie native Kirsten Winkler Sass in The Banner office, donned in a red USA Triathlon jacket. Kirsten will race as a guide in the Paralympics August 24 through September 5. The news came after the June 27 paratriathlon race in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Their story began in 2017 when Kirsten first met Amy Dixon, her partner in the race.

Kirsten had always been interested in guiding paratriathlon athletes. Amy Dixon, a para athlete from San Diego, was in need of a guide after her original guide was ruled ineligible for their upcoming race in Yokohama, Japan, and all of her substitute guides were unable to race. The two racers found each other through friends of friends, both knowledgeable of each others’ successes in triathlons. Kirsten and Amy first met a few days before the competition in Japan and immediately bonded. They also raced in Edmonton, Canada, and Rotterdam, Netherlands, that year. Since 2017, Kirsten and Amy have earned four World Cup places and first through seventh place in over seventeen races.

As a guide, Kirsten acts as Amy’s “eyes”. Amy has lost 98% of her vision due to a rare autoimmune disease. However, her motto is: “You don’t need to have sight to have vision.” In their division they will race against other legally blind athletes including those who are completely blind.

In paratriathlons, athletes swim 750 meters, bike 20 kilometers, and run 5 kilometers. While swimming, Kirsten and Amy are tethered together with a bungee cord. The two bike on a tandem bike with Kirsten in the front and Amy in the back. They are also bungee-corded together while running. Kirsten informs Amy of upcoming obstacles, leads her in the right directions and tells her their placement.

The Paralympic preliminaries began four years ago. There is a point system established for competitors. They have to win enough races to get onto the national team. From then, they continue to move up in points based on races and where they finish. Kirsten and Amy’s final qualifying race was June 27, where they claimed ninth spot in the world in paratriathlon rankings.

Kirsten attributes her dad, the late Dr. Volker Winkler, for her experience and success in triathlons. Growing up, she said her dad made her and her five siblings run one 5K, just once in their lives, and they would never have to run one again. Kirsten started running again when she attended the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and her roommate invited her to start swimming that same year. Shortly after moving off-campus, Kirsten bought a bike to make commuting easier. One day while at the school’s pool, she unknowingly asked the triathlon club coach how many laps it took to swim a mile. After that conversation, the coach invited Kirsten to join the triathlon club.

Kirsten recalls calling her dad about joining the club. He was ecstatic because he knew she would be home from school just in time to run the Memphis in May triathlon. This triathlon was her first ever race. She came in “dead last” in her division, but she remembers everyone encouraging her as if she had won first place. It was then she knew she loved the triathlon environment. Kirsten continued competing, becoming faster and better with every race.

Since her first race, Kirsten Sass has become a champion triathlete. She was the USA Triathlon Overall Amateur Female Triathlete for 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. She won the USA Triathlon Open Amateur Female Triathlete of the Year in 2018. She won the USA Triathlon Overall Amateur Female Duathlete of the Year 2015, 2016, 2019. She is the 10X World Champion Gold Medalist, a 5-time World Champion Silver Medalist and a World Champion Bronze Medalist in Triathlon, Duathlon, and Aquathlon. Kirsten holds 23 national championships in the Triathlon and Duathlon, and in 2016, she was awarded the Ironman Louisville Overall Female. In March, she was honored for her international athletic accomplishments by the City of McKenzie with three roadside signs noting her achievements. March 4, 2021 was designated as Kirsten Winkler Sass Day in the city of McKenzie.

Although she competes as Amy’s guide, Kirsten still races in individual competitions. In May, she raced in the Duathlon National Championships. She will compete in a Nashville race at the end of July and at the Age Group National Championships at the beginning of August. She assured us she still plans to race in the Dixie Triathlon in Huntingdon, her eyes lighting up with glee as she called it her favorite race.

In her free time, Kirsten enjoys supporting local amateur athletes. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kirsten hosted a bike skills clinic for a number of area riders who had picked up cycling when unable to use gym facilities, including a number of firefighters. Kirsten and her family reside in the Pea Ridge Community outside McKenzie where they operate Somerset Getaways. It is a place to relax or take in professional athletic training. One Friday per month, Kirsten holds a cycling event known as a “Time Trial” for local riders. The “Time Trial” is a great opportunity for local riders to test their cycling and socialize with others who love to ride. She also gives swimming lessons and is a USA Triathlon certified coach.

To amateur athletes, she said, “If you have a dream or passion or something you love to do, stick with it. Give it your all. If you love it and you’re willing to work for it, do it. Anything can happen.”

She thanks her husband, Jeff Sass, and their two kids, Bella and Sebastian, for their support and encouragement. Kirsten, a physician assistant at Christian Family Medicine, says her co-workers and the management have been absolutely wonderful in working with her to accommodate time off for travel and racing. “Nothing I have been able to do [as a triathlete] would have been possible without my friends, family and community and their help along the way,”

Kirsten and Amy will compete in the paratriathlon August 27 at 6:34 p.m. CT. Because of COVID-19 protocol rules, no spectators are allowed at the Paralympics. NBC networks will broadcast the games.

Kirsten believes tuning in gives people a great opportunity to learn about the Paralympics. “These incredible para-athletes have great stories. It’s amazing to learn about them and what all they have overcome.”