1. Michelle Konkoly
“It doesn’t matter how far you fall,
it’s how you get back up”
US Paralympic National Swim Team
Pan-American and American Record Holder

2. The Fall…
Michelle
Konkoly
grew
up
in
the
suburbs
of
Philadelphia,
where
she
took
to
the
water
at
a
young
age.
After
graduating
high
school
as
a
two-­‐time
All-­‐American,
she
chose
to
swim
for
Georgetown
University.
In
2011,
during
her
freshman
year,
Michelle
slipped
and
fell
out
of
a
five-­‐story
window,
shattering
multiple
bones
and
injuring
her
spinal
cord
–
she
had
almost
no
movement
or
feeling
from
the
waist
down.
In
that
moment,
Michelle’s
life
forever
changed,
but
she
refused
to
let
this
injury
stand
in
her
way
of
accomplishing
great
things.
And Rise
After
multiple
surgeries
and
months
of
rigorous
rehabilitation,
Michelle
eventually
relearned
how
to
walk.
Despite
some
permanent
weakness
that
remained
in
her
legs,
she
returned
to
the
Georgetown
swim
team
and
would
later
become
Team
Captain
and
the
first
para-­‐swimmer
to
ever
compete
at
Big
East
Conference
Championships.
When
she
discovered
Paralympic
swimming
in
2012,
she
quickly
rose
to
the
top
of
the
world
rankings
for
S9
sprint
freestyle
events.

3. Accomplishments
• Currently
ranked
#1
in
the
world
for
S9
50m
and
100m
Freestyle
• Selected
to
represent
Team
USA
at
2015
IPC
World
Championships
in
Scotland
• PanAmerican
Record
Holder
in
S9
50m
and
100m
Freestyle
• 5-­‐Time
American
Record
Holder
• 3-­‐time
Gold
medalist
at
2014
Pan
Pacific
Para
Swimming
Championships
• Captain
of
Georgetown
University
Varsity
Swim
Team
• Suburban
Aquatic
League
Hall
of
Fame
• Motivational
Speaker
Contact
Michelle
Konkoly
mak244@georgetown.edu
!
610.306.7931
Today,
Michelle
is
training
full-­‐time
with
T2
Aquatics
in
Naples,
FL.
She
graduated
from
Georgetown
in
2014
with
a
degree
in
Biology.
Her
relentless
work
ethic
pushes
her
to
continue
to
defy
the
odds.
• Win
GOLD
and
become
World
Champion
in
50m
and
100m
Freestyle
at
2015
World
Championships
• Break
World
Record
in
50m
Freestyle
• Currently
only
0.10
seconds
away
• Represent
the
United
States
at
the
2016
Paralympic
Games
• Win
GOLD
in
the
50m
and
100m
Freestyle
and
lead
USA
Relays
to
GOLD
in
Rio
• Continue
to
promote
the
Paralympic
Movement
to
young
athletes
and
sports
enthusiasts
around
the
world
Goals
www.facebook.com/michellekonkoly
@michellekonkoly
@michellekonkoly