Main Subject

Music reverberates through the concrete walls of the gym, spilling onto a deserted early morning street in Pinedale, Wyoming. Inside, Melanie Holmes, is cross training for her two World Games events: triathlon and cycling. As the sun rises, she boards her razor scooter and heads to work at the Pinedale Clerks Office, followed by a swim at the town pool.

What Melanie lacks in innate athleticism she makes up for in dogged determination. Yet she describes her aspirations for the World Games in broader terms: “It’s not about the medals. I came for the experience.” Initial shyness gives way to an underlying joviality and ‘tell it like it is’ attitude that positions her as an unlikely foil to the ableist worldview.