Dennis Connors Will Do Everything He Can To Be a Paralympic Cycler And Climber In 2028

Dennis Connors has a sort of yin-and-yang approach to his sports.

The yin is Para-cycling, where he won a silver medal at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 after essentially starting the sport only three years earlier. The yang is rock climbing, which he’s done his entire life, including — and especially — with his wife, Krista, and their two kids.

With the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles on the horizon, Connors is slowly coming to grips with a potentially big decision.

Is it possible to participate in both cycling and climbing at the Summer Games?

The answer isn’t clear-cut, and a lot of variables have to fall into place for that to happen.

“If it is feasible, I will do both,” said Connors, 39, a former U.S. Marine who lives with his family in Beaverton, Oregon. “If it is not feasible, I will make that decision down the road.

“If the qualifiers are on the same day and one is in Belgium and the other is in Korea, or even the schedule for the Games, if they overlap on the same day, you can’t do both.”

On top of avoiding scheduling conflicts, he must be assured he’s at the top of his game in both sports to make it all work, which may be the biggest hurdle of all.

One thing’s for sure — he’s getting plenty of practice balancing training and competitions for the two sports.

In early March, he won his category in at the 2025 Para Climbing National Championships in Oakland, California. At the end of the month, he won his category at the 2025 U.S. Paralympics Cycling Time Trial in Huntsville, Alabama. That placed him on the U.S. roster for the world cup events in Italy and Belgium later this year, though his plan is to go to Belgium for the world cup May 1 and then head back there in August for the world championships.

Then he’s off to Seoul, South Korea, for the Para climbing world championships at the end of September.

So, how does he manage trying to be one of the best in the world in both sports?

“With a lot of discipline and a lot of time management and planning,” he said.

No surprise there. It takes a lot of strategy, especially lately.

“I had to maintain cycling and add more climbing,” he said. “Fortunately, our whole family rock climbs, so (we can) go after school one or two days a week, we can go on weekends.

“It’s interesting, when I’m training for cycling, my family can’t come with me, but when I’m climbing outside on real rock, that’s something I can do, my wife can do, my kids can do right there. It’s more of a family event, and I’ve enjoyed that.”

Connors, who sustained a stroke while serving in the U.S. Marines, causing Ataxia, competes on a tricycle in the T2 class for cycling. For climbing he’s classified RP2, for athletes with a disability that affects two limbs.

Para climbing may sound like a fun family activity, but it isn’t easy. An indoor competition consists of two days, the first for qualification. There, Connors gets two individual climbs, going as high as he can and earning a point for each rock hold. Another key: He’s in a harness with ropes, but the ropes are loose, so they don’t aid him in any way. In other words, it takes brute strength, especially upper-body strength, to compete the task.

At the end of the qualification round, the top competitors — usually including Connors — head to final round, which is one attempt. Whoever goes highest wins, which can mean climbing as high as 65 feet.

Another big factor in whether he’ll be able to compete in both sports in Los Angeles in 2028 is the wear and tear on his body.

“If it’s feasible, I would work with two coaches and come up with a really dedicated training and recovery plan,” he said. “I’ll use the next two years to find out if my body can handle the training.”

But ask Connors — who has a master’s degree from the University of Utah in parks, recreation and tourism, with an emphasis in outdoor adventure — if he prefers one sport over the other, and he’s adamant.

“I’m not going to answer that question,” he said. “Some days I would pick cycling; some days I would pick rock climbing.”

He offered some advice for any athlete that would aspire to balance two sports: Make sure you love them both. Period.

“Find that thing you love and hold onto it as long as you can go,” he said.

Gregg Voss is a journalist based in the Chicago suburbs who has been writing sports for newspapers and magazines for more than 20 years. He is a freelance contributor to USParaCycling.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.