By Mary Romaniec
Grafton News Reporter –
In just about a month one of Grafton’s own will be heading to Rio to participate in the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Chaz Davis qualified as part of Team USA’s track and field team for the 1,500 meter and 5,000 meter track races during nationals at Charlotte, North Carolina in June. His time of 4:05 for the 1,500 and the 15:25 for the 5,000 were not his personal best, but they were enough to garner a coveted team spot.
Davis will run in these games because he is legally blind. In 2013, Davis was diagnosed with a hereditary mitochondrial condition called Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. Over a period of six months, from the onset of symptoms, he went from blurry vision to total loss of sight.
It is the aftermath of a wide chain of events that led Davis to find his inner strength and resilience to become an unlikely champion for others facing adversity. In fact, it is not a stretch to suggest Davis has earned a PhD in mental toughness if such a degree existed.
When he graduated from Grafton High School in 2012, he was at the top of his game. As one of the top runners in the state, he commanded respect from teammates and other runners for his grace and poise on and off the course. When he was recruited by the University of Hartford to be on their men’s track team, he knew it would be a good fit both academically and athletically.
But in the spring of 2013, all of that changed.
“I had vision better than 20/20,” Davis said. “I woke up and my right eye was mostly blind.” After seeing a series of physicians and specialists it was determined he had the hereditary disorder, which came with little understanding in the medical field because it is so rare.
The first physician suggested overt exertion of any kind would cause him to lose his sight at a faster pace, so Davis stopped running and quickly ballooned up 40 pounds. But the ensuing depression meant he was heading for a disastrous future if he allowed it to continue.
As he looked around at the choices in front of him, Davis knew his resilience would have to be found by switching his perspective. “I’m able to accept what’s going on in the present moment. I can handle this,” he said. Even as he made these bold statements to himself, he continued to reel from the emotional toll of losing his sight so suddenly.
“I thought, ‘I only have this life.’ I can’t change things or regret choices,” said Davis. “I will do the best I can with what I have.”
“I thought, ‘I only have this life.’ I can’t change things or regret choices,” said Davis. “I will do the best I can with what I have.”
With intense mental toughness he began to hone a way back, an acceptance of his situation without declaring defeat. He dug in and found ways to excel where he never had before. The fall of his sophomore year should have been his toughest academically as he navigated and adjusted to a new way of learning.
“It was in my control to move forward,” he said. But even in that self reflection and resolve it took another doctor and his fellow teammates to convince him to start running again.
With the weight gain Davis found himself at a low point. A new specialist advised him to start running again in order to support a healthier mitochondria. When Davis realized people were raising money for mitochondrial disorder research, he jumped at the chance to participate in one of the sponsored runs. “I finally started to realize where my life was heading,” he said.
After a three month hiatus, he got back to running, but at a much slower pace than his top form.
He shed most of the weight and began to reach out to his coaches and the University of Hartford team who motivated and prodded him to find his way back as a runner. “They wouldn’t allow me to make excuses for myself,” Davis said. “I needed that.”
The grief of losing his sight took a toll in other relationships, but it also expanded and cemented others. His teammates became his running partners as he navigated the roadways once again. In a testament to his Grafton roots, Davis ran the Gazebo Road Race in May 2014, placing fifth.
As he ran toward the finish line a throng of supporters cheered and celebrated his return to the sport he loves. “I felt awful physically [after the race] but emotionally it was a great period on this journey,” said Davis.
After that cathartic experience, he was determined to get back into competitive running shape. To do so he had to train his body and mind simultaneously. Running on a treadmill, he had to focus on the way his body navigated the feel of movement, starting by holding on to the rails until he gained confidence.
“I was not in tune with my body,” Davis said. But he zeroed in on what he wanted his body to be able to do; using his mind to create an outcome that at one time he took for granted. “It was like learning how to run again. I was retraining my brain to perceive running.”
He rejoined the team and began to compete at the collegiate level again. He soon became the second fastest on the team, running faster than he did in his freshman year.
He then began to focus on the Paralympics. In Minneapolis in 2015, he won the Paralympic National for the 5,000 meters and came in second in the Pan American games in Toronto the same year.
“I started to get a lot of confidence,” said Davis. “I mean I could really do this. I could go to Rio. Then I started to race a lot more.”
The mental toughness and resilience have overlapped into other areas of his life. His goals are evolving as he takes on the persona of a sports psychologist or life coach all rolled into one.
When asked how he thinks he will perform in Rio, Davis said, “I am confident I will run the best that I can run. I am extremely confident actually.”
Team USA heads to Rio on Sept. 2 for the Games which run five days later and continue to the 18th. Davis will compete in the 1,500 meter race on the 11th, then the 5,000 meter race on Sept. 15. His parents, Grafton residents Audrey and Marquis Davis will be in attendance.
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