ST. LOUIS — A hard-working, determined, ray of sunshine. That’s the way friends, coaches, and teammates describe Amaris Vazquez.
Vazquez competes on Liberty (Wentzville) High School’s swim and track and field teams where she competes against able-bodied athletes because there’s no separate division for her to compete in for para-athletes in the state of Missouri.
But for her, that’s no problem. Amaris also competes as an athlete for DASA, the Disabled Athlete Sports Association.
DASA is an organization that encourages a holistic, healthy lifestyle through a family-friendly athletic and rehabilitative environment that empowers individuals who are disabled athletes.
“Her confidence and being able to perform in big settings, national settings, at home, all of that comes from having the opportunity to be part of DASA,” Amaris’s mother Siomari Collazo said.
For Amaris, the organization changed her life.
“It really did just open my eyes because I did get to see more people with disabilities like me,” Amaris said. “And I got to see people in wheelchairs, and I got to compete with people just like me.”
DASA provided her the first opportunity to ever compete against other para-athletes.
“It honestly just changed my lifestyle in a positive aspect because I got to see so many others, and it was kind of eye-opening,” Amaris said.
Her journey started long before her high school career. It began in Puerto Rico, where she was born. The Vazquez family moved to Missouri when Amaris was a little girl to provide her the best medical care possible.
“I was born with a foot deformity,” Amaris said. “It was just a really bad form of club foot. They thought that the best option for me was amputation. So after all of that, they decided to amputate when I was one.”
The amputation changed her physical stature, but nothing else.
When Amaris turned 8 years old, she joined DASA and quickly became a junior national champion in both swim and track and field.
Her father Jose Vazquez is now an accomplished runner and swimmer thanks to Amaris’s DASA coach.
“One of the DASA coaches introduced him to Ironman (triathlon),” Siomari Collazo said. “She was gonna do one, and she kind of said like, ‘Oh you should do it with me.’ And he said, ‘Are you serious?’ And they started training, and they did their first Ironman together.”
Jose Vazquez began competing in Ironman triathlons on an annual basis, with the dream of completing one with his daughter one day.
After years of hard work, Amaris was hand-picked to train for a triathlon at the Chula Vista U.S. Paralympic and Olympic training center with some of the best para-athletes in the country.
Her father was thrilled, to say the least.
“I would call my mom and call my dad after everything I did,” Amaris said. “I’d be like, ‘Oh I just rode bike for a couple miles, or I just ran and I swam open water.’ And it was interesting, and I think he was more excited than I was to go to that camp.”
It was the first time in her life that Amaris was away from her family, pursuing a dream. Although her father was there virtually every step of the way.
“He instantly wanted as many pictures, so I tried sending him as many pictures as I could,” Amaris Vazquez said. “And every time I would call him he would have a big smile on his face, and would tell me how proud he was, and how happy he was that I was doing it.”
“To see her feeling so happy and empowered, and confident, it was a great opportunity that I have to be grateful not just to DASA, but to many other organizations that support her through everything,” Siomari Collazo said.
Jose Vazquez said he will stop running the day he completes a triathlon with Amaris. Because for the Vazquez family, it’s not just about winning. It’s about striving for your dream.
“I get emotional,” Siomari Collazo said. “I think that when Amari was born, we set pretty high goals. We said that she would have the life that she wanted to have. That nothing was going to stop her. We strongly believe that she has a big purpose, that God gave her to us with that purpose, and I think she has been fulfilling that purpose. By sharing her story, by doing things that will put her in front of people so that others can see.”
It’s about the bigger picture for Amaris.
“When you’re competing with people with disabilities, you feel welcomed, you feel like you’re in this place,” Amaris said. “Everybody’s different, but we all kind of welcome each other, and we all know where we’re from, like our backstories. But then you go and like walk in the mall or something, and you see just people staring, people pointing, people looking at you. So I think like I’ve definitely gotten better at just living my life, and ignoring everything.”
Amaris said competing in a triathlon with her dad could be on the horizon because her story is only beginning.
“I’m currently training to go to the 2024 Paralympics,” Amaris Vazquez said. “That’s my goal. That’s what I’m working for. Maybe it will be in triathlons, maybe it will be track, or maybe it will be swimming. I’m not sure yet, but I’m just going to continue to train, and continue to work hard to make those team trials.”
“As a parent, you don’t want anything else but to see your kids grow to become confident humans,” Siomari Collazo said. “And that they are using their talents to show others people what you’re capable of. And it just brings a lot of joy to me.”