My Story

To the doctors and Jenna Fesemyer’s parents surprise, Jenna was diagnosed with a congenital birth defect called Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency from birth. This means that her left leg did not grow and she was born without a hip joint. After this discovery, the doctors decided to amputate her remaining foot so she could wear a prosthetic leg. Given this opportunity, she was then able to keep up with her triplet siblings, Jonathan and Jessica. Born a triplet, she was always in a competitive atmosphere and yearned to succeed.

Growing up, Fesemyer always looked for ways to stay involved and to feed her competitive nature. Throughout middle school, she played basketball, volleyball, and threw discus for the school's track team. Upon starting high school, Fesemyer had the unfortunate realization that she then was no longer fast enough to keep up with her peers on the volleyball or basketball courts. She then tried golf to feed her competitive nature and to continue to engage with her community. Shortly after, she was introduced to the sport of wheelchair racing. In 2013, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) added wheelchair events to the state track meet. Curious about the sport, Fesemyer decided to give it a try.

Shortly after, Fesemyer fell in love with wheelchair racing and decided to pursue wheelchair racing in college. After some quick research, it was easy to find that the University of Illinois houses the best wheelchair athletes in the world. She’s since attended the University of Illinois for her bachelors degree and is currently finishing up her masters degree in Education Policy. Along with her studies, she’s also grown as an elite athlete, testing her limits in the Abbott World Major Marathons, with top finishes in the Chicago, New York City, and London Marathons. In 2021, Fesemyer had the honor of representing the United States of America at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - competing in the 1500m, 5000m, and marathon.