Amanda McGrory is surprisingly calm when she talks about juggling her master’s degree classes, work at the iSchool's Help Desk, and race trainings with the University’s wheelchair track team. On top of these activities—which make up her normal routine—McGrory is preparing to travel to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the 2016 Paralympic Games.
McGrory is one of the world’s top distance racers and has several big wins under her belt, including first-place finishes at the Chicago, London, New York, and Paris marathons and second place at the Boston Marathon. She’s already a gold medalist: she brought home medals from the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing and 2012 games in London.
In Rio, she will compete in the marathon, 1,500-meter and 800-meter races, the 5K, and the 400-meter relay. To prepare, she and more than a dozen other Illinois wheelchair athletes—both students and alumni—train six days each week.
How does McGrory balance an intense training schedule with classes and an assistantship at the Help Desk?
“I like to say that I’ve become an absolute master at time management,” she said. “This will be my third Olympic games, so I’m used to training while I’m in school.” She’s also adjusting her course load so that she has only one class and an independent study this semester, her second at the iSchool.
McGrory's independent study will be a continuation of a summer project she has been working on with the Division of Disability Resources & Educational Services (DRES) at Illinois. She is assisting a former DRES director and track coach with research into the history of the University’s wheelchair sports program. The research will be incorporated into a forthcoming book on the topic.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time in the archives, and I’m really enjoying it,” she said.
Keep up with McGrory (@alittlechipped) and the rest of the Illini Wheelchair Athletics team (@IlliniWCA) on Twitter as they compete in Rio September 7-18.