Gabrielle Platt helps make history in Tulsa Tough’s first para-cycling race

For the first time in its 19-year history, Tulsa Tough opened the starting line to para-cyclists.

Gabrielle Platt was one of them.

“I’ve pretty much been riding bikes since 2014,” Platt said. “Then I started racing in 2016.”

Her road to the sport wasn’t typical. In 2011, Platt was shot three times and left in a ditch. She’s used a wheelchair ever since.

“It’s a day at a time. A step at a time,” she said. “Having goals that I want to accomplish and just kind of going after those goals.”

Her first exposure to adaptive sports came through wheelchair basketball at The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges in Tulsa. A year later, she discovered handcycling.

“I was riding once a week out at the River Parks,” she said. “Then I decided I was good enough to go to nationals.”

That decision sparked a new dream. By 2018, she had a coach and was training to compete seriously. Today, she trains full time at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado with her eyes on the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

But this weekend marked another first: her first time racing at Tulsa Tough.

“I’ve been coming to this event for years. My son raced here as a junior,” she said. “I’ve always been here as a spectator. Now I finally get to be part of it.”

Tulsa Tough will hold its para-cycling races Friday and Saturday, alongside the rest of its weekend criteriums.

“I think it’s pretty cool they have a para-cycling category this year,” Platt said. “Inclusion is everything, because the world isn’t really designed for people with disabilities.”

She credits the local bike community for helping her get her first handcycle. Now, she’s paying it forward by showing what’s possible.

“I’ve become so passionate about it—it’s second nature to me,” she said. “If I can be an example to somebody, that’s what it’s all about.”