McDOWELL Kevin

General
BEATING CANCER
At age 18 he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, and took six months off to complete chemotherapy. "I had my eyes set on the junior world title my last year in that category and early on that spring I actually was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. My whole world was upside down where I was actually, instead of focusing on trying to win the world title, fighting for my life to beat cancer. I actually didn't know what my outcome would be, if this was going to be terminal, or major complications. The doctor looked at me, she's like, 'Give me six months of your life and then you're going to be good and we're going to beat this thing'. I took that to heart and I was like, 'Six months? Okay, let's do this. That's going to be my new goal, my new focus, making sure I beat this thing the best I can and walk out of this in the best situation I can'." He returned to elite competition a year after the diagnosis. "The chemotherapy delayed everything. I'm 28 now, but I feel more like a 23 or 24-year-old. My body is back to better than it was before chemo." (gazette.com, 05 Jul 2021; teamusa.org, May 15 2021; nbcchicago.com, 16 Jul 2021)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He works with Cal's Angels, a paediatric cancer foundation in the United States of America, and has shared his experience of cancer. "It took a while, but I am finally comfortable sharing my story. I want to show that you can make it through. It is just so special and means so much for me to give back, the way people gave to me when I was sick." (triathlete.com, 13 Jul 2021)

RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
He says there have been three occasions when he nearly gave up professional triathlon. "In 2013, I went to the folks at USA Triathlon and said, 'I just can't do this anymore'. My body was breaking, emotionally, I was a wreck. They told me to stop competing and just focus on school." After a break he returned to competition, but was again close to retiring when he failed to earn selection for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and later in 2019 after suffering from anaemia and other injuries, which he overcame with the help of a sports dietician. "At that point [2016], my friends were moving on in life, getting real jobs, and I questioned if I should move on too. I've finally accepted that I'm different from other triathletes. I've been through a lot, my body just doesn't operate the same way as others, and I have to train differently. It took me nine years to figure that out, and I'm still learning." (triathlete.com, 13 Jul 2021)