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“I just thought, ‘You know what, I want her to get into sports when she gets older and I want her to have a mentor because they said she has never been in a community with people with disabilities,” Kaplan said.

In addition to teaching, Kaplan competes as a paratriathlete and is aiming to qualify for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. She herself was inspired by a teacher who did triathlons on the weekends.

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy of Paul Clawson
PHOTO: Leah Kaplan is also a paratriathlete and hopes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
>

“As an adult, I was thinking, ‘Why not do one now? There's an Ironman that's local. I might as well just sign up for it even though I have no training, I have no bike,’” Kaplan recalled of her first triathlon experience. “I said, ‘I’m gonna do this. I want to do something like this.’ So I applied and I raced as a challenged athlete and I came in first place.”

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy of Paul Clawson
PHOTO: Leah Kaplan hopes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
>

For Kaplan, the paratriathlon world is a community she didn’t know she was looking for, full of excitement and empowerment, and as someone who grew up with a limb difference and an adoptee who came to the U.S. from China when she was 6, she recognizes how impactful representation can be.

“I know what it's like as a kid to just suffer in silence, to feel so alone, and look at so many beautiful people online and just not feeling good enough … You don't have to look the part. You can still achieve whatever you want,” Kaplan said.

Raegan finally got to take her new bike for a spin on Sunday and reported that she “really liked it” and that it was “really fun” to ride a customized bike with all three gears and brakes on the right-hand side.

This summer, Kaplan plans to help Raegan, who also loves to run and swim, get started in triathlons too. “I really like doing sports,” Raegan added. “It’s really fun. And like, when I go to practice in cross country, I'm just like, ‘Yes!’”

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