"I'm Not the Only One": Paralympian Jaleen Roberts Is Changing the Conversation on Mental Health
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Trigger warning: This post discusses depression and suicide.
For four years, Jaleen Roberts shaped her life around one dream. A long jumper and 100- and 200-meter sprinter in the T37 division, track was Roberts's world, and making the Paralympic Games her ultimate goal. Training in Spokane, WA, everything Roberts did, every choice she made, came back to track. So in March 2020, when the Paralympic Games were postponed due to COVID-19, it felt like Roberts's dream was "ripped away." She took it hard, turning down interview requests, and avoiding her training. She didn't want to talk to anybody connected to the sport.