Mckenzie Coan

McKenzie Coan continues to defy the odds. When she was diagnosed at just 19 days old with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder characterized by bones that break easily, Coan’s parents, Marc and Teresa, were told that their daughter would be unable to sit, stand, walk, or even hold up her head on her own. Last Monday — one day before her 26th birthday — Coan captured her third ...

Recently, Jeffery Bozzi ‘23 and Jimmy Cody ‘23 had the opportunity to interview McKenzie Coan ‘18, a Loyola alumna who has competed in multiple Olympic Games as a swimmer. Coan, a six-time Olympic medalist (four gold and two silver), has competed in three Olympic Games to date (London, Rio, and...

Last year, in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, McKenzie Coan swam tethered in an eight-foot mail-order pool inside her parents’ garage in Clarkesville, Georgia, to continue training for her sport. This morning, Coan swam at the sprawling, state-of-the-art Tokyo Aquatics Centre as part of the 2020 Paralympic...

Paralympic Games (Day 5 Women): McKenzie Coan Repeats as Gold Medalist in 400 Freestyle. Already a highly accomplished Paralympian, the United States’ McKenzie Coan added to her legacy on Sunday when she collected another gold medal at the Paralympic Games. Racing at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Coan repeated as the champion of the S7 400-meter freestyle. Coan was the gold medalist in the event at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

McKenzie Coan poses during the medal ceremony for the women's 400-meter freestyle - S7 final during the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 on Aug. 29, 2021 in Tokyo. For the first few days of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, McKenzie Coan could only watch her teammates swim and await her turn to get in the pool.

Mount Airy native Daniel Romanchuk earned the first gold medal of his Paralympic career on Sunday as he won the men’s T54 400-meter wheelchair race at the Tokyo Paralympics. Romanchuk finished in 45.72 seconds, just beating Athiwat Paeng-Nuea of Thailand, who finished second in 45.73 seconds. “This class [T54] is...

Paralympics: McKenzie Coan Has Come a Long Way From Garage Pool to Tokyo. McKenzie Coan expected to spend part of the summer of 2020 in Tokyo. Instead, the two-time Paralympian spent it far from Japan’s mega-metropolis. Very far, indeed, as in her hometown of Clarkesville, Georgia, with a “teeny, tiny”...

McKenzie Coan poses for a portrait during the Team USA Tokyo 2020 Olympic shoot on Nov. 22, 2019 in West Hollywood, Calif. You’d never guess that inside the Coan garage in Clarkesville, Georgia, there’s a Ford Model A on one side and an 8-foot tethered swimming pool on the other.

McKenzie Coan smiles and holds up an American flag at a recent photoshoot. When McKenzie Coan was 7 or 8, she liked sliding on her parents’ hardwood floor without shoes. It was fun, and it felt like she was ice skating. Her mother, though, did not find this as entertaining....

The two took us through competing at their first meet since the pandemic and what competition and Paralympic qualification will look like moving forward. Current photo via Jack Spitser/Spitser Photography. In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges,...

Champion’s Mojo Podcast: Paralympic World-Record Holder McKenzie Coan Shows Incredible Range. McKenzie Coan has broken 65 bones in her body. The Rio 2016 Paralympic gold medalist joins the Champion’s Mojo Podcast to discuss how the ability to remain positive has been so crucial in her success. She talks about how, despite the fact that having Brittle Bone Disease makes it easier to break her bones, she never lets it break her spirit. She won gold in Rio in the 50 freestyle and holds Paralympic world records in the 800 and 1500 freestyle, showing incredible range. How does she do it?