Ellen Geddes was passionate about equestrian and horses. But after a serious accident in 2011 left her with a complete spinal cord injury, the athlete found a new passion.

Since her injury, Geddes has become one of the world’s best parafencers. She has competed in five world championships and one Paralympic games. She will make her second appearance this year for the Paris 2024 games from Aug. 28 - Sept. 8.

“It was absolutely incredible to qualify for my first Paralympics, but I certainly had higher hopes and aspirations than what I achieved, which is why we are running it back again for 2024,” Geddes said.

The journey to her Paralympic appearance began in her hometown of Aiken, S.C. She started riding horses and competing in events when she was young, which helped spark an interest in sports.

After her accident, Geddes found herself receiving treatment at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Ga. There she was introduced to parafencing, a sport that had one advantage over all the others.

“I met the team captain of the Shepherd Center’s fencing club while I was there, and he asked me if I thought it would be fun to stab people, and I said yes,” Geddes said. “That kind of started out my fencing career, and we have been going from there.”

Within a year of starting parafencing, Geddes qualified for her first Wheelchair World Championship team. In 2014, she won her first medal on the World Cup circuit in Montreal.

In the 2018 World Cup in Kyoto, Geddes took double top eights. She said that event was her favorite fencing memory.

“It was kind of the first time I was ever successful,” Geddes said. “All of the effort for years was finally paying off.”

Geddes has added plenty of more accolades since 2018. She is a five-time zonal championship gold medalist and a six-time world championship medalist, with three silvers and four bronze. In Paris, she hopes to improve on her performance from Tokyo and maybe leave with a medal this time.

It would be an absolutely incredible joy,” Geddes said. “It is definitely a goal. It feels a bit like a stretch goal, but I am definitely on a good path to at least think of that as a potential outcome.”

Outside of fencing, Geddes co-owns a breeding company for sport horses. This has allowed her to maintain her love for horses while playing a huge role in their growth and development.

“I stayed pretty motivated to do horses, and I’ve really enjoyed watching them develop through their training,” Geddes said. “We have baby horses born every year, and we sell some of them, but then we keep some of them until their riding age, and it’s really fun to get to watch something that you’ve seen take its first breath, learn, and actually start to become, like, a sport horse.”

Balancing her parafencing career and horse breeding business is tough work, Geddes said. She is extremely invested in both but often has to pick and choose.

“I definitely struggle with balance,” Geddes said. “Right now, I’m focusing a lot more on the fencing than I am on the horses and the farms.”

Geddes will be constantly training from now until the Paralympic games. She will work solo with her coaches and other athletes to prepare for the competition.

Geddes is one of six athletes attending the games representing the United States in fencing for the Paralympics. Geddes said the bond among her teammates is strong, and that will help each other in competition.

“I am doing this journey with them,” Geddes said. “I’m excited to be able to cheer my teammates on who I’ve been able to develop friendships with because of the amount we travel.”

Outside of competing, Geddes is excited to take in some French culture. She plans to make the most of her trip and see some of the world’s most famous attractions.

“I am excited to get to explore some of the museums around Paris, especially the Louvre,” Geddes said.