Interview with Ann Cody

Ann Cody is a former Olympic and Paralympic wheelchair racer. She set a world record in 4 x 100 meters at the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. She also set world records in the 3000 meters, 10,000 meters and 1500 meters. She came in second behind Jean Driscoll at the 1990 and 1991 Boston Marathons. She talks about the program at the UofI, Jean Driscoll, disabilities, and the Boston Marathon.

The University of Illinois

Q: Tell me how you got involved with the program at the University of Illinois?

AC: In 1981, I enrolled as a freshman at the University of Illinois. I had found out about the sports programs that they offered and wanted so badly to get back into sports so I went out and looked at the campus, and fell in love with it immediately. And I enrolled while I was out there and started my freshman year in the fall of 81. And that's when Marty, it was his first year there as well, we became very good friends. We lived in the dorms right next to each other and um played basketball and trained together and everything. And that's when he got me interested in track and field and racing also.

Q: How did you become interested in track and field. I mean what did you see in it that enticed you?

AC: Good question. Well Marty really encouraged me to try the racing chair because he had one. He was a pent-athlete. And so I got into the racing chair and it was totally foreign to me. It's hard to explain but when you first get in a racing chair it's very different than pushing a wheelchair or riding a bike. It's something you kind of have to find your way through. Um but what I discovered once I figured out how to use the equipment, it gave me a new vehicle for some new freedom and new discovery that I hadn't had with basketball or pushing my everyday chair. So that's what really enticed me to kind of explore it a little bit and I spent the next two to three years really just um exploring it, not really getting seriously into it and I continued to focus on basketball.

Q: What were some of the sacrifices you had to make to be able to do that program?

Well uh I was in the program for ten years and my lifestyle revolved around academics when I was in school and my competitive seasons, whether it was basketball, or track and field or road racing. Um I really had to curb a lot of activities that other students on campus were involved in. But I realized that because I had been an athlete prior to acquiring my disability and I also knew that as an athlete I had to work a lot harder than other athletes that I had competed with. And so I knew the situation and I had a lot of goals and really found a tremendous amount of satisfaction and joy in competing because I had the opportunity to do some tremendous things. Um..a lot of traveling, um meeting lots of different people and just getting lots of incredible experience.

Jean Driscoll

Q: It seem you and Jean had a unique relationship because you were friends but you were also competitors in the sport. How were you able to maintain your friendship?

AC: Um well I think we really became friends through our competition and training. Um just the intensity of the way we lived everyday of our lives. We also played basketball together on the women's basketball team and I come from a long history of team sports and I think Jean is really the kind of person who is a team player. She understands that concept and I think playing basketball together helped a lot. And so we really approached our training and our racing as a team because we knew that we were really complementing each other and getting stronger and really developing. It enhanced our performance to be teammates and to know psychologically that each other were there in a race and when it came down to that final sprint or if you were in the middle of a race and one person was really not able to stay at the same level as the other person you helped. We helped each other out as much as we could but when it was time to go..time to take the wind we both were you know we both were willing to do that because it was our ultimate goal was to win.

Disability

Q: You have a strong competitive nature, could you talk about realizing after you got your disability that you wanted to pursue wheelchair sports and continue your competitive nature?

AC: I think I remember when I was five being told that I had some athletic ability and that's pretty young for someone who grew up in the time that I did. That was in the late 60's. And I loved being outside. I loved learning how to swim and learning to skate, learning how to ride my bike. Those were all the things that I really remember about my childhood and when I was ten years old I started um participating in my first organized competitive sport and that was softball and um I played every sport I could all the way through grade school and junior high. I learned how to ski. I skied on the ski club. And then when I got into high school, I competed on a varsity team. And those teams were field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball. And um I just really thrived on the competition and on the whole experience of being a part of the team. That's why team sports were so important to me. And um when I became disabled I was devastated, as anyone would be but um mostly because I didn't think I would ever play sports again. I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to acquire my goals, which were to compete at the collegiate level and go beyond that if possible. You know that was my dream and who knows if it ever would have happened. But um fortunately I found out there was an opportunity for me to compete at the collegiate level and that was at the University of Illinois. So it was a tremendous fall my freshman year was because I just couldn't get enough. I would go from the pool to the basketball court to the football practice to where ever I could just to start to develop some of my endurance and strength because I had been a year and a half without any sport and I really missed it. It was great.

Q: How do you respond to people who hear about wheelchair athletics and wonder "is that really a sport?"

AC: I spend so much time educating people and trying to raise their awareness um but it's never been asked to me quite that way..is it really a sport? I think probably people are thinking that but they are afraid to ask. Probably what I would say is it took me a tremendous amount of time and effort and energy and commitment to train and become an elite level athlete in my sport. and the time, the training, the commitment it took me is no different than what it would take an Olympic athlete to rise to the top of their sport. So that's typically how I put it. I'm not sure they can still grasp the concept because there are a lot of myths around disability in general in our culture and certainly one of those myths is that someone with a disability is somewhat somehow fragile and weak. I mean disability is considered a weakness unfortunately. And um but actually the reality is it's not. The people who experience a disability certainly become so much stronger because of their life experience that actually they are very strong and stoic and we are able to accomplish that any ordinary people would because of the extraordinary challenges that we overcome to be able to have a quality life like anyone would want. The other myth about sport for people with disabilities is that we're all Special Olympians and that's something that is um is uh well the Special Olympics are a large, well-known entity in the United States so that's something that those of us who are not Special Olympians, those of us who are Paralympians really struggle with. Because we are trying to raise awareness and change attitudes about people with disabilities in general and there's some real confusion about the difference between someone who's mentally disabled and physically disabled. We are all perceived as having multiple disability because our disability might be so visible.

Q: So how do you try to chance people's attitudes in your everyday life? How do you deal with people who are patronizing?

AC: Um well usually I'm much more aware of it as I grow older. Um when someone has a patronizing tone or something and um I really try to respond to them in a way that discourages what they are doing usually with the tone of my voice or I might answer their question in a very articulate, eloquent way because I want them to understand that there's nothing wrong with me. I'm a strong and competent person and just because their own attitude is causing them to react a certain way to me doesn't mean they can't learn and change that. Sometimes I have to react to somebody in a much stronger way and be very direct with him or her particularly in the business world. Um or particularly if someone is acting very inappropriately then I'll let them know

Q: So how has you transition been from elite athlete to working in the corporate world?

AC: Well it's been challenging definitely because I'm a woman and because I have a disability. And also in the field I work in because I'm an athlete. Actually being an athlete is very helpful and you're very much respected for that but it's difficult for people to make the transition in their minds that you're a professional. I think the harder thing, well the thing for me is people didn't really understand was that when I was an athlete and competing at that level, I was also working as a volunteer and as a graduate student in the field doing coaching and running events and so forth and so there's not a tremendous amount of awareness about that, about the tremendous professional experience you gain by being an athlete. Because you have to learn to manage so much of your life in so many things and that experience has been invaluable to me. That's why I was able to make the transition so quickly from athlete to professional working on a very monumental task so I know that but sometimes the people that I work with don't realize that or whatever so that's been interesting. But fortunately working on the Paralympic Games being an athlete and having had the experience of competing in three Paralympic Games, my expertise is invaluable to the organization so I'm very much appreciated in the position that I hold right now. Prior to that, it was a very difficult transition and I think I've always felt even before my disability that I had to accomplish large things in order to gain the respect that I so much wanted from other people. And when I became disabled it was you know that determination multiplied and probably with good reason because when you have a disability again I mentioned it earlier people perceive that you are less able and um so you constantly feel like you have to prove yourself and you know the result is that you are an overachiever in every aspect of your life so uh it's uh really difficult when you fall short of an expectation that you have of yourself because you think you are going to lose that respect from other people in your professional life. I'm not the first woman to have ever done it, the first person with a disability to have done it so um I owe a lot of my opportunities to people who have paved the way for me.

The Boston Marathon

Q: Could you talk about what it's like to compete in the Boston Marathon?

Let me see. I have to go back to my first Boston, which was in 1986. And I had just started doing marathons that season. In fact, my decision to enter in track and field competitively as a competitive athlete occurred in the winter of 85, 86. One thing that I wanted badly was to complete a marathon because that to me was the biggest challenge you could um give yourself in that sport. So I started training for the marathon distance in January of 85 and competed in my first marathon in May. It was the Fort Wayne Marathon and I did really well. I ran a sub-3 hour marathon, which back then was pretty good. I think I ran a two hour and 46 minute marathon and I missed qualifying for Boston by like 2 minutes and that's when I realized that I was going to have an opportunity to compete at the THE grandfather of all marathons because running my first marathon and coming so close to qualifying was a big surprise, a pleasant surprise. So I just kept working on it and eventually by the fall of 85. I was a seasoned racer by then right! I ran the Columbus Marathon I believe and qualified for Boston at that race and I knew I was on my way. So um I was really just starting out in the sport so my successes for my personal um records and improving with every race and every month so um by the time April of 86 came around I was going to Boston. I was the only one going from the University of Illinois at that time so I went all by myself. Marty didn't even go with me. (laughs) And my parents were there and Marty's family was there so that tradition kind of started back in 86 and I just had a ball. At that time racing was fun for me in a different way. I didn't have all the pressure and expectations you know of a top athlete. I just wanted to do my best. That was probably my favorite Boston in a way because I was relatively unknown and um uh it was just really exciting. It was really exciting to run Boston. And you know if that was my last race..if that was my last Boston and my last marathon I would have been thrilled because I hadn't known what was ahead. It was just..for me it was a tremendous accomplishment to get there and run that race and just run a personal best and it was great. So I didn't return to Boston until 1990. So there was a long stretch in there and of course with the Olympics and the Paralympics in 1988 I had to really focus on the shorter distances and the 800 meters to the 5000 meters was what I focused on so that was I wasn't doing the Boston Marathon. And then in 1990, Jean and I headed back to Boston because I was on a totally different level than I had been in 1986. That was another incredible race.1990. It was the beginning of Jean's legendary path. But it was a tremendous race for both of us.

Q: Did you two work together throughout the race?

AC: From what I can remember, it's been a while since I've talked about it and thought about it but um we approached that race the way we approached every race, that we would work together. That particular race I was a lot stronger going into Boston in training than some of the other races that we had run so Jean was really concerned and Marty kind of had considered the race between the both of us to me so it was just based on our performances going in. And I was feeling pretty confident but I knew the hills were in there and I knew they were a vast unknown um cause I remembered them from 86 and I also knew that Jean was an especially good hill climber especially on those steep long hills. However, we hadn't had a chance to train on them so neither one of us where she was or where I was with the hills so we really had no indication of the turn of events though it happened but um Jean was.. We were working together in the first 6 miles of the race and she was letting me know through a number system that we had what her exertion was and she was working really hard. And being only six miles into the race, we were both concerned that she was working that hard and I was feeling real good and really strong so I decided to try to make a break and Jean kind of sacrificed staying with me and working with me for blocking our competitor in the race, Connie Hansen, who had won the race in 1989. She was the defending champion. We certainly wanted one of the two of us to win really bad and we wanted to run a good race and run a smart tactical race and we did. We really ran a brilliant race but it started at six miles and then ..for me, the race started at six miles when we made that strong tactical move. Jean worked with Connie the rest of the race until she dropped Connie. Meanwhile, I was out in front, probably about 2 minutes. I'm not sure exactly but I was working off the front by myself until I think around 17 miles if I remember right is when Jean actually caught me. We started hitting the hills around 15 or 16 mile mark and it didn't her long once we started climbing to reel me in. But I had no idea. I knew I was hurting because I had run really hard, 10 miles by myself, trying to put more distance, really trying to gain some ground going into the hills but um that's when Jean caught me and she tried to help me get into her draft going up the hills but I just couldn't even climb with her so at 17 miles I watched my lead slip away very quickly. But then I became concerned that Connie would be coming up behind me because she was a good hill climber and so I just did everything I could to maintain my performance and hold Connie out. I knew I wasn't going to catch Jean. It was a real emotional race so that was my Boston of 1990.

Q: What did you and Jean talk about afterwards?

AC: We were rooming together and we talked about it and we've talked about it lots of times because I didn't realize that Marty had told her pretty directly that you need to help Ann out tactically in this race. If you have a chance to go out for her do it. I wasn't aware of this until after the fact. So that was interesting to me and I kind of you know it was well it was interesting but right after the race, I mean it was just incredible the support that came pouring in when she had won the race. The media interest and everything. It was just incredible so she was very..She was swamped with interviews and congratulatory phone calls and flowers and everything. It was a time for me it was very difficult. But at the same time she was my teammate. If I couldn't win the race, then she was who I wanted to see win so uh I was really happy for her but trying to hold back my emotions so we didn't get to talk about it a whole lot. Because you know when you win Boston you really have a lot of people to respond to. I can imagine if that was me, it would be really hard. It was. My family was there so that was helpful. I mean how they could relate because they were disappointed and everything too.

Q: Did you go back to Boston after that?

AC: Yeah I did. Two more times..in 91 and 92. In 91 it was a similar race. We worked together and um until about 14 miles. There's a real fast downhill right before you go into the Newton hills and Connie and Jean dropped me. No..let's see oh I'm sorry in 91 Jean and I dropped Connie at what mile mark I think around 10 or 12 so we were so excited because we knew we had first and second if everything went well..if we didn't have any mechanical problems and if we raced a smart race so uh and um I really knew that I hadn't been able to train on the hills enough to really feel confident that I would be able to take over Jean on the hills so that's what happened when we hit the hills. Jean pulled away. So um I got second again in 91.

Q: Do you ever remember Jean looking up to you and the things you might have said to her?

AC: Um I don't know if I remember anything specific that I said but I remember spending time with her, especially her freshman year. Well it wasn't her freshman year but her first year uh at a student at Illinois because she was having a really hard time adjusting. She missed home and she didn't feel like she was doing well. Not academically..she was doing fine academically but athletically um so I spent a lot of time with her if I remember right...mostly because we were playing basketball and traveling together and rooming together and everything but I was really concerned. I didn't want her to give up because that environment was something that was so incredible. You couldn't fnd it anywhere else and I knew what her dreams and aspirations were as an athlete. So..I didn't..I wanted to make sure that she didn't get so overwhelmed or so discouraged that she ended up leaving. I remember thinking about that a lot and just trying to make sure that she knew that she was special and had a lot of talent. Um I remember Jean being..She's very outgoing and um always meeting new people and making friends with them and so once I saw that I knew that she would be alright because she was just a really easy person to get to know and very likeable. That's what I remember. I don't know if I remember too much about um giving her words of wisdom. The one thing that really sums up our friendship is that I think maybe she looks up to me but I think we've always had a very equitable relationship. I never felt like you know one of us was on a different level than the other. We always seemed to meet each other half way whether there was a conflict or some animosity between us or because of something that happened we were always able to work through it and meet each other halfway. So um if I was a role model or a standard for her that that makes me feel good and uh certainly she is to many people as well.

Q: Do you think there is something the two of you had because you were women and athletes and spent so much time together..do you think you had a perspective on some things that know one else could understand?

AC: Yeah definitely. Even within our own team and we had at the time both of us were there we had some really tremendously gifted athletes, talented athletes who had the same goals that we had but uh Jean and I had something different and it might have been our intensity..just our ability to work really hard and be really focused. And so sometimes we felt a little bit alienated like there was a little bit of tension um so we definitely that was a bond that we shared because we understood each other that way definitely. I think we both are very diplomatic. I hate to use that word. But we're diplomatic and we're easy to get along with and sometimes we get whacked down because of it. It's probably because of a lot of things like that that we can relate to each other about.

Q: Do you think there needs to be more encouragement for women in sports and in particular wheelchair sports?

AC: Yeah, that was really the first passion of mine was how do women and young girls get some kind of equity. And I really experienced that in high school when I was playing varsity sports and I became very vocal about it with our athletic director, and um you know got my teammates invested in it too. And they felt the same way. Sometimes I just had to be the one to push everyone to express their feelings but we were definitely treated like second class athletes compared to the men's programs and that was something that really, really bothered me. So I spoke out about it and when I became disabled I realized that well my struggles as a young girl in athletics were minute almost. There's serious differences between how women and girls, and men and boys are treated. But I had a whole new set of challenges and standards that weren't acceptable to me that I had to live with for a long time and that's what's brought me to where I am now. It's just I want to see things changed so much. And part of that passion is I'm a woman, because that's really a large part of who I am, even larger than as a person with a disability I would think. I feel like I could have the same passion if I were working in women's sports, as I do working in disabled sports. And then when you look at the disabled sports movement and the tremendous inequities in sports for female athletes it's really sad and it's really frustrating. I realize that certainly there are statistics that explain to some degree why there aren't more women competing in the Paralympic Games and I'm usually the first one to point that out but I also believe very much is that part of the reason the numbers of females are so low is opportunities haven't been there. It's been..the attitude has been pretty much let's get athletes with disabilities out in the forefront and if it's the men that are going to capture people's interests, then that's what we've got to push. And that's the same thing we've seen throughout society and throughout all of culture. So I get really, really passionate about that as a woman.