Hailey Danisewicz (SESP ’13) won a world championship in the paratriathlon Sept. 13, completing the course from London’s 2012 Olympic Games less than three months after graduating from Northwestern with a degree in human development and psychological services.
Danisewicz, who lost a leg to cancer as a teenager, finished the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike ride and 5-kilometer run in 1 hour, 29 minutes and 29 seconds.
She began running triathlons during her time at NU. During a SESP internship at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, she helped plan a camp for injured veterans and coached athletes in the institute’s adaptive ski program. Danisewicz also counseled runners and spectators who lost limbs in the April bombing at the Boston Marathon.
“Thanks to the city of Boston for being so wicked awesome,” Danisewicz wrote at the time. “I can’t wait to come back and run through your streets once again, this time in the company of some inspiring heroes with running blades of their own.”
— Joseph Diebold
