Katie Holloway Bridge is lacing up her sneakers at an athlete meet-and-greet in Paris, just two months before the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. For this sitting volleyball pro, these will be her fifth Games, and she’s grown weary of being seen merely as an inspirational figure. “I tend to see people still using us as inspiration rather than elite athletes with a story,” she says, as we sit on a couch in a corner of the bustling Adidas Arena. Moments earlier, I had mistakenly mixed up the words Olympics and Paralympics several times in our scattered conversation—something she’s more than used to, though she shouldn’t have to be.
“Every day I spend a lot of time educating people about my sport and what it is,” she says, flashing a kind smile. “And I ask people to not say Olympics but Paralympics, and truly call me a Paralympian. It’s not an insult, it’s not lesser than—Paralympics literally means ‘parallel to the Olympics.’ That’s what I am, and I’m proud of it.”
Born in Lake Stevens, Washington, Holloway Bridge was diagnosed with fibular hemimelia, which led doctors to amputate her lower right leg before she was two years old. Throughout her life, she pushed against her disability, diving headfirst into able-bodied sports like volleyball and basketball, excelling with her prosthetic leg. She even became the first female amputee to play basketball at the NCAA Division I level at California State University, Northridge. Then, a coach introduced her to sitting volleyball, suggesting she could go far if she embraced her unique body and learned to work with it.
At 38, Holloway Bridge is a seasoned outside hitter with four Paralympic medals (two gold and two silver) and is gearing up for another performance with Team USA this August. This comes a year and a half after giving birth to her daughter, Claire, with her husband, Ryan Bridge. “I had to have an emergency C-section, and my sport is all about core, so I’m still recovering,” she says, glancing lovingly at her daughter nearby. She took about three months off practice after giving birth and spent a full year getting back to 100 percent. “Honestly, it was probably one of the toughest challenges, physically, I’ve gone through.”
Reflecting on her past four Games and looking to the future, she believes this year’s Paralympics might be the best yet for her and her team. “This is the best feeling it’s ever been, because we’re at a point where we give each other grace,” she says. “We’re a family. We’ve been together for so long. We all love what we do and we’re all very talented, but we’re also realizing: Hey, we can’t be perfect. It’s like, you’ve had two kids, you’re going through a shoulder injury, or a hip injury, or whatever. Life has changed us and changed our relationships for the better.”
Her one-year-old will be joining her for the experience. “My entire family is coming and bringing her with them—so I don’t have to fly with her, which is great,” Holloway Bridge jokes.
Despite her remarkable athletic career, Holloway Bridge remains humble and grateful for what the sport has taught her about herself. “I’ve changed a lot. I’ve grown to love myself more as a person with a disability,” she says, noting that becoming a mother has put everything into perspective. “I’ve also become much more firm in my boundaries. And I’ve always been very direct, but I’ve been able to soften, to be way more vulnerable and enjoy everything more,” she adds.
The evolution of prosthetics has also played a significant role in her journey. “I am a very functional person, so I don’t need anything too fancy, but now I’m with a prosthetic company that gives me the opportunity to have a running leg, an athletic one, and an everyday one,” she says. “If I had had that in college, oh, my gosh, my life would have been so much easier. The amount of running that we did for basketball was a lot, and if I had had a running leg, I would have been in much better shape. I’m fortunate that now I have one that I can wear heels in, and flip-flops. Even up until I was 20 I couldn’t wear flip-flops, because you need a split toe.”
The United States still lags in terms of health insurance, “because it only covers one leg a year, and you have to pay for the rest,” but overall, Holloway Bridge says, the progress has been overwhelming. “It’s a lot of emotional labor to be a person and an athlete with a disability, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world, and I feel like we’re getting there; we’ve come a long way,” she says.
Moments earlier, Holloway Bridge and dozens of other Adidas-sponsored Olympic and Paralympic athletes had stepped out onto the arena podium in their national uniforms, representing their country and their sport. “It was so refreshing to see it was almost 50/50 Paralympic athletes and Olympic athletes,” she says with excitement. “I was like: What world do I live in? I want to pinch myself because the inclusion that I saw today was on another level.”
Katie Holloway Bridge’s journey is a testament to resilience, determination, and the power of embracing one’s identity. As she prepares for her fifth Paralympic Games, she continues to inspire and educate, urging everyone to recognize and respect the term “Paralympian.” It’s not just a label; it’s a badge of honor that signifies her elite status and the parallel journey she shares with Olympians.
Source: Harper’s Bazaar, Team USA
