PARIS — The third time is the charm for Wauwatosa-native Hailey Danz. She’s competed in three Paralympic Games, taking home a silver medal during 2016’s games in Rio, a silver medal in the 2020 games in Tokyo and her very first Paralympic gold medal in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. 

For the 33-year-old, it's a dream come true.

She competes in the PTS2 triathlon. Athletes who compete in the PTS2 race “have coordination affected at a low level across the whole body, moderately down one side, or the absence of limbs,” according to LEXI Global. LEXI Global offers explanations on para-sports and their classifications.

LEXI Global also said that athletes’ ability to evenly exert power is impacted and they have a “stop/start motion throughout the race.”

Danz lost her left leg to bone cancer when she was 14-years-old.

But it wasn’t until she attended college at Northwestern University that she discovered triathlons and began competing. 

Hailey Danz from the U.S. celebrates after winning the women's PTS2 Triathlon at the 2024 Paralympics, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Danz, who has a prosthetic leg, has been competing in triathlons for over a decade; she said technology has changed so much since she first started training. Because of that, she considers herself a pioneer in the sport, having had to undergo upgrades and come up with her own techniques as she went along.

LEXI Global noted that athletes who compete in PTS2 triathlon races who have absent limbs often have slower transition times between triathlon phases due to prosthetics. Even athletes who may opt to bike using one leg may experience uneven fatigue by the time they reach the run.

“At this level, we’re just constantly optimizing our equipment and making sure that things are at [their] best,” Danz said. “One of the challenges of doing that in para-sport is that there’s just not a whole lot of research out there on what is the optimal setup for an above the knee amputee runner. We just don’t know.”

Hailey Danz from the U.S. rides during the women's PTS2 triathlon competition in the Paralympic Games in Paris, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Danz won the gold medal. (AP Photo/Nathalee Simoneau)

Danz said she delt with many trials and tribulations on her journey to her gold medal. She admitted she even considered quitting multiple times because of the stress and pressure she felt.

Ultimately, Danz stuck with it and said the emotions poured out once she crossed the finish line and knew she had won the race.

“That moment was just so many years in the making and so much went into it,” Danz said. “I really did my best to be in the moment and take it all in. It was just an absolutely amazing moment.”

Her gold-medal time in Paris was 1:14:31. 

Hailey Danz from the U.S. poses with her gold medal after winning the women's PTS2 Triathlon at the 2024 Paralympics, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The Wauwatosa East graduate said she would not be where she is today without her family.

“I think I would have probably retired a long time ago had it not been for them,” Danz said. “On the days that I wasn’t feeling motivated, I knew that they were counting on me to show up. And just being in the trenches with them every day, and the relationships that we’ve built, have really, really kept me going and kind of given me a purpose.”

Now, Danz said she hopes to be an inspiration to younger generations.

“Get out and try as many things as you can. Take advantage of whatever local organization may be accessible to you because it does give you the opportunity to just try a lot of different things,” Danz said. “I never in a million years thought that triathlon would be the sport that I landed in.”