WARNER, Okla — Paralympian Cassie Mitchell is going for the gold in Paris.
Mitchell made the Team USA for the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Her event, the women's discus throw.
The Paralympic games begin two weeks after the Olympics for the able-bodied wrap-up.
Mitchell is no stranger to the Paralympics.
She won silver and bronze medals for the women's discus throw during the Rio games in 2016 and a silver medal for the club throw in Tokyo in 2020.
"I have to persevere no matter what," she said. "My life motto has been to never, never, never give up."
Mitchell's mom, Clara, is her coach.
She admires her daughter's tenacity and tells 2 News Oklahoma that Cassie is easy to coach.
"I will say that because she's very motivated." Mitchell said, "She has extraordinary willpower, and she never complains. I have to try to get her to not do as much because I know she has a tendency to work me to overtrain, and I have to put my foot down on overtraining."
Cassie Mitchell told 2 News she trains as much as six or seven days a week.
Mitchell hasn't always been in a wheelchair. She has an autoimmune neurological disease called neuromyelitis optica. It affects her vision and causes paralysis in all four limbs and from her chest down.
"I literally went to bed one day around the age of 18," she said, "and I woke up the next day, and I couldn't move."
But the disease could not stop her spirit from achieving her goals in life. In addition to becoming a world-class para-athlete, she's earned her degree and doctorate in biomedical engineering and is also a professor.
Mitchell also has leukemia and, even while training, takes daily chemotherapy.
While she's going for the gold in Paris in the women's discus throw, she said, "I actually didn't start out in discus. I started out in track events, where I hold world records in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, and 1500 meters."
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