San Marcos & Cape’s Dam Nurtured A 2016 Olympian
Dear Editor:
The San Marcos River changed my life. More accurately, the City of San Marcos changed my life.
I was born with a rare birth defect known as Proximal Femoral Focal deficiency (PFFD) type D. Which caused me to be born without a left femur, patella, fibula and my left hip is not fully developed. This means that the only way my leg is attached to the body is through muscle and skin. As a result of this birth defect, I wear a prosthetic left leg. I grew up in a small community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Throughout my childhood, I was encouraged to participate in able-bodied sports, and the more I participated; the more I grew to love competition.
In 2011 I met the Olympic kayaker, Ben Kvanli. I was kayaking at an event called the Extremity Games, which was held at the Texas Ski Ranch in San Marcos. Ben offered me a spot at the Olympic Outdoor Center and the opportunity to train year-round in the perfect San Marcos River. For the two years that I lived and trained in San Marcos, the community embraced and supported me.
I was coached by a team of people that believed in my ability to succeed. I was offered gym access, physical training, and most importantly, an accessible entry point to the river. The kayaks that I race in are notoriously unstable. They are built to speed across the water and are very prone to tipping over when still. The water around Thompson’s Island provided a perfect training environment for me.
I used the ramp at the Olympic Outdoor Center for a safe and simple way to enter the water while I was not wearing my prosthetic leg. I was able to stabilize myself in the boat while on the ramp. I was then able to continue to remain stable in the calm, slow-moving water that Cape’s Dam has created. My event is the 200-meter kayak sprint. One of the ways I train is to alternate between 30 seconds of paddling as intensely as I can and 30 seconds of moderate paddling. The millrace was a perfect environment for this training. The water was peaceful and free of current or obstacles that would slow me down or damage my kayak.
My event is the 200-meter kayak sprint. One of the ways I train is to alternate between 30 seconds of paddling as intensely as I can and 30 seconds of moderate paddling. The millrace was a perfect environment for this training. The water was peaceful and free of current or obstacles that would slow me down or damage my kayak.
As a result of my training in San Marcos, and the incredible support of the people of San Marcos, I am now honored to be able to represent the United States in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio.
The San Marcos River surrounding Thompson’s Island was instrumental in my training. I would like to ask the people of San Marcos to contact their representatives on City Council and ask them to repair Cape’s Dam and maintain the perfect water level in the San Marcos River. Please do not make the grave mistake of drastically changing a place that has meant so much to so many.
Kelly Allen
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
I’m so glad to hear that Kelly is representing us. Clearly, she is am amazing athlete. I’m even happier that the wonderful SM River played a role in her journey. However, I’d like to remind everyone that the dam is BAD for the river and environment – the science is clear. It’s also important to remember that there are other suitable and safe places along the river and in SM for adaptive padding and all kinds of recreation and training (they just don’t make money for those who financially benefit from the dam). While the folks who oppose removing the dam are busy spreading misinformation, the rest of us are working hard to ensure that these alternatives are available to those who need them – for training, recreation, healing and hopefully many more Olympic journeys.
Meredith,
Please be kind with your words. Everyone has an opinion in this matter and everyone deserves to be heard. Don’t accuse someone of spreading misinformation when you are doing the same. As a fellow amputee who also races kayaks, I can assure you there is currently no other area that you can get into a race boat and safely do so on one leg.
The damn may not have been good for the river, and may not still be the best option. Obviously over the last 100 years the river has adapted to an extent to it. Has it not occurred to you that even more damage would be done to the river by tearing it out? Not to mention the extreme danger the mill race would pose. It’d literally be an empty death trap.
Science is not clear when only one person is dictating it. Especially when other scientists have raised concern. Why does there need to be such a rush? We should take the time to have proper studies done by multiple people. It’s just like going to the doctor for a major operation. You’re going to look around and seek multiple people’s opinions and views on what you need to have done.
If you are truly as concerned about the river as you say, don’t you want things to be done in the least impacting way as possible?