Beating the Odds: Meet Karen

Just one of Crew Australia’s youngest athletes, 16-year-aged Karen Messmer has conquer substantially adversity already. She was born almost 3 months early, weighing in about 1 lb, 13 oz. She also experienced a hole in her coronary heart. But, even then, Karen seemed established to get to her aims.

Her mother, Suzanne, remembers that Karen experienced to work tough to obtain power and stamina, even with hypotonia and other conditions linked to her untimely beginning. Karen truly commenced getting self-assurance, as nicely as muscle improvement, when she took up horseback driving. A turning point arrived when she got associated in equestrian training with Distinctive Olympics. First, the training aided her get stronger and produce far more abilities then, she just held finding far better. Shortly, she felt self-assured enough to enter community competitions. Ultimately, Karen began performing towards yet another, loftier objective: competing at the up coming Unique Olympics Earth Online games, set for June 2023 in Berlin, Germany.

Of study course, Karen’s dad, Gunther, was constantly one of her major boosters. He also shared Karen’s dream of going to the 2023 Planet Online games in Berlin, as Gunther was of Austrian/German heritage. With each other, they talked of returning to the family’s homeland in Germany and possibly traveling to extensive-lost family. But Gunther died in November 2021, the victim of a violent robbery. “He by no means acquired to know Karen experienced for choice for Staff Australia,” suggests her mom. “He would have been really happy.”

In his memory, Karen persevered. She carries on working to be the greatest she can be. She also carries on a rigid teaching regiment, which calls for a great deal of dedication—especially when balancing her college schedule. Ahead of Planet Games, you will discover Karen instruction before daybreak at the very least a few instances a week, ordinarily close to at 4:30 am. That is how she’s obtaining completely ready to contend, overcoming any obstacles in her way, as she is made use of to doing. In her phrases, “Follow your desires and always keep seeking.”