ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Minda Dentler - Athlete, activist
A record-setting triathlete, Minda Dentler is a polio survivor committed to inspiring people to move beyond their fear of failure and achieve their goals.

Why you should listen

Minda Dentler's life is one of inspiration, courage and determination. As an infant in India, she contracted polio, resulting in the paralysis of her legs, and was left at an orphanage. When she was three, she was adopted by an American family which enabled her to receive the medical care necessary to be able to walk with leg braces and crutches.

Undeterred by her disability, Dentler became an independent woman with the intention and drive to face and overcome the many obstacles she has encountered throughout her life. As an adult, she discovered athletics and threw herself into the sport of triathlon. In 2013, she became the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship, in Kona, Hawaii.

Dentler is an athlete, speaker, advocate and mother. She has been featured on CNN, Forbes and NBC. She has written for Huffington Post and TIME, advocating for the eradication of polio. She was a 2017 Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow. She works for a large global insurer and, with her husband, is raising a young daughter. She's committed to inspiring people to move beyond their fear of failure and achieve their goals.

More profile about the speaker
Minda Dentler | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2017

Minda Dentler: What I learned when I conquered the world's toughest triathlon

Minda Dentler: O que aprendi ao conquistar o triatlo mais difícil do mundo

Filmed:
1,257,928 views

Nadar 3,8 km, pedalar 180 km e correr uma maratona em um local quente e seco, sem descanso entre essas atividades: eis o lendário triatlo Ironman, em Kona, Havaí, competição que está na lista de objetivos da maioria dos triatletas. Mas, quando Minda Dentler decidiu entrar nessa, ela tinha maiores aspirações do que simplesmente colocar mais uma medalha em seu pescoço. Ela conta a história de como conquistou essa prova épica, e o que isso a inspirou a fazer em seguida.
- Athlete, activist
A record-setting triathlete, Minda Dentler is a polio survivor committed to inspiring people to move beyond their fear of failure and achieve their goals. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
It was October 13, 2012,
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Era 13 de outubro de 2012,
00:16
a day that I will never forget.
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um dia que jamais esquecerei.
00:18
I was on my bike, pushing up what seemed
like a never-ending barren hill.
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Estava na minha bicicleta, subindo
uma ladeira que parecia não ter fim.
00:24
And it wasn't just any hill:
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E não era uma ladeira qualquer:
00:26
it was a 15-mile climb
up to a town called Hawi
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era uma subida de 24km
até uma cidade chamada Hawi
no arquipélago do Havaí.
00:30
on the Big Island of Hawaii.
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00:32
And it wasn't just any ride:
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E não era um percurso qualquer:
00:34
it was at the Ironman World Championship.
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era o Campeonato Mundial de Ironman.
00:37
I can still feel my muscles burning.
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Ainda sinto meus músculos queimarem.
00:40
I was struggling, tired and dehydrated,
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Eu estava resistindo,
cansada e desidratada,
00:43
as I could feel the heat
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e ainda sinto o calor
00:45
emanating from the asphalt,
measuring almost 98 degrees.
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de quase 35 graus emanando do asfalto.
00:49
I was near the halfway point
of the bike portion
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Eu estava quase na metade
da prova de ciclismo
00:52
of one of the most prestigious, longest,
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de um dos mais prestigiados e intensos
00:55
single-day endurance race
events in the world.
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eventos de resistência do mundo.
00:59
Every year, during my childhood,
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Todos os anos, desde minha infância,
01:01
I watched this very race on TV
in our family living room.
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eu assistia a essa prova
na TV junto com minha família.
01:04
I sat next to my dad on our 1970s-style
orange and brown sofa,
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Sentava ao lado do meu pai no nosso
sofá laranja e marrom estilo anos 70,
01:09
and I remember being in utter awe
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e lembro de ter muito respeito
01:11
at how these athletes
pushed themselves to their limit
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por aqueles atletas
que testavam seus limites
01:14
in this grueling race.
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nessa prova extenuante.
01:15
And just so you don't get the wrong idea,
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E antes que vocês entendam errado,
01:17
my family members weren't just spectators.
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meus familiares não eram
meros espectadores.
01:20
They were incredibly athletic,
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Eles eram atletas incríveis,
01:22
and I always participated
from the sidelines,
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e eu sempre participei nos bastidores,
01:25
cheering on my three siblings
or handing out water at local races.
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torcendo com meus três irmãos
ou distribuindo água nas corridas locais.
01:29
I remember wanting so badly
to be able to compete, but I couldn't.
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Eu lembro que queria tanto
ser capaz de competir, mas não podia.
01:35
Even though I couldn't play sports,
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Apesar de não poder praticar esportes,
01:37
I decided to be active in my community.
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decidi ser ativa na minha comunidade.
01:39
I volunteered at the local
hospital in high school.
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Fui voluntária no hospital local
durante o ensino médio.
01:42
In college, I interned at the White House,
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Na faculdade, fiz estágio na Casa Branca,
01:45
studied abroad in Spain
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estudei na Espanha
01:46
and backpacked through Europe
all by myself
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e viajei sozinha pela Europa de mochila
01:49
with my leg braces and crutches.
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com minhas órteses e muletas.
01:51
Upon graduating, I moved to New York City
for a job in management consulting,
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Formada, me mudei para Nova York
e trabalhei com consultoria em gestão,
01:56
earned an MBA, got married
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fiz um MBA, me casei
01:58
and now have a daughter.
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e agora tenho uma filha.
02:00
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
02:03
At age 28, I was introduced
to the sport of hand-cycling,
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Com 28 anos, conheci o ciclismo adaptado
02:08
and then triathlon,
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e o triatlo,
02:10
and by luck, I met Jason Fowler,
an Ironman World Champion,
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e, por sorte, conheci Jason Fowler,
campeão mundial de Ironman,
02:14
at a camp for athletes with disabilities.
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em um acampamento
para atletas com deficiências.
02:17
And like me, he competed in a wheelchair.
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E como eu, ele competia
numa cadeira de rodas.
02:19
And with his encouragement, at age 34,
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Com o incentivo dele, ao fazer 34 anos,
02:23
I decided to go after Kona.
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decidi participar do Kona.
02:26
The Kona, or Hawaii Ironman
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O Kona, ou Ironman do Havaí
02:28
is the oldest Iron-distance
race in the sport,
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é a prova de longa distância
mais antiga da modalidade;
02:31
and if you're not familiar,
it's like the Super Bowl of triathlon.
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se você não conhece,
é como a Copa do Mundo do triatlo.
02:35
And the Ironman,
for a wheelchair athlete like me,
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O Ironman, para uma atleta
cadeirante como eu,
02:38
consists of a 2.4-mile open-water swim
in the Pacific Ocean,
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consiste em um percurso de natação
de 3,8km em mar aberto no Pacífico,
02:42
a 112-mile hand cycle ride
in lava fields --
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180km de ciclismo adaptado
em campos de lava -
02:45
now, that sounds exotic,
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isso parece exótico,
02:47
but it's not as scenic as it sounds,
and it's pretty desolate --
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mas não é tão pitoresco quanto parece,
é até um tanto desolador -
02:50
and then you top it off with a marathon,
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e a prova termina com uma maratona,
02:53
or a 26.2-mile run in 90-degree heat
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ou seja, correr 42km
sob um calor de 32 graus
02:57
using a racing wheelchair.
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em uma cadeira de rodas de corrida.
02:59
That's right, it's a total distance
of 140.6 miles using just your arms
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É isso! Percorrer uma distância total
de 226km, usando somente os braços,
03:06
in less than 17 hours.
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em menos de 17 horas.
03:08
No female wheelchair athlete
had ever completed the race
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Nenhuma atleta cadeirante
chegou a completar essa prova
03:12
because of the strict,
seemingly impossible cutoff times.
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pelo rigoroso tempo de corte,
aparentemente impossível de se cumprir.
03:17
And so there I was,
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E lá estava eu,
03:19
putting it all out on the line.
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assumindo todo aquele risco.
03:21
And when I finally reached the top
of that 15-mile climb,
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E quando finalmente cheguei
no topo daquela subida de 24km,
03:25
I was discouraged.
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desanimei.
03:27
There was no way I was going
to make that swim in my time limit
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Não havia chance de completar
aquela etapa no tempo limite
03:31
of 10 and a half hours,
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de dez horas e meia,
03:32
because I was almost two hours off pace.
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porque eu estava
quase duas horas atrasada.
03:36
I had to make the agonizing decision
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Tive que tomar a dolorosa decisão
03:39
to quit.
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de desistir.
03:41
I removed my timing chip,
and I handed it over to a race official.
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Removi meu chip e entreguei-o
a um dirigente da prova.
03:45
My day was done.
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Meu dia tinha acabado.
03:48
My best friend Shannon
and my husband Shawn
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Minha melhor amiga, Shannon,
e meu marido Shawn
03:51
were waiting at the top of Hawi
to drive me back to town.
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estavam me esperando no topo de Hawi
para me trazer de volta à cidade.
03:54
And on my way back to town,
I began to cry.
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No caminho de volta, comecei a chorar.
03:58
I had failed.
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Eu tinha falhado.
04:00
My dream of completing
the Ironman World Championship
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Meu sonho de completar
o Campeonato Mundial de Ironman
04:03
was crushed.
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tinha acabado.
04:05
I was embarrassed.
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Eu estava envergonhada.
04:07
I felt like I'd messed up.
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Eu senti que tinha estragado tudo.
04:09
I worried about what my friends,
my family and people at work
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Me preocupei com o que os meu amigos,
familiares e colegas de trabalho
04:12
would think of me.
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iriam pensar de mim.
04:14
What was I going to put on Facebook?
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O que eu iria postar no Facebook?
04:16
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
04:18
How was I going to explain to everyone
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Como eu explicaria para todos
04:20
that things didn't go the way
I had assumed or planned?
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que as coisas não tinham sido
da forma que planejei?
04:23
A few weeks later I was talking
to Shannon about the Kona "disaster,"
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Semanas depois eu conversava
com Shannon sobre o "desastre de Kona",
04:28
and she said this to me:
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e ela me disse:
04:30
"Minda, big dreams and goals can only
be realized when you're ready to fail."
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"Minda, sonhos só podem se realizar
se você estiver pronta para fracassar".
04:36
I knew I had to put that failure behind me
in order to move forward,
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Eu sabia que tinha que tinha que esquecer
aquele fracasso e seguir em frente,
04:39
and it wouldn't be the first time
that I had faced insurmountable odds.
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e não seria a primeira vez que enfrentaria
dificuldades insuperáveis.
04:44
I was born in Bombay, India,
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Nasci em Mumbai, na Índia,
04:46
and just before my first birthday,
I contracted polio,
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e, antes do meu primeiro aniversário,
contraí poliomielite,
04:50
which left me paralyzed
from the hips down.
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o que me deixou paraplégica
dos quadris para baixo.
04:53
Unable to care for me, my birth mother
left me at an orphanage.
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Sem condições, minha mãe biológica
me deixou em um orfanato.
04:58
Fortunately, I was adopted
by an American family,
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Felizmente, fui adotada
por uma família americana,
05:01
and I moved to Spokane, Washington
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e fui morar em Spokane, Washington,
05:03
just shortly after my third birthday.
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um pouco depois de fazer três anos.
05:05
Over the next few years,
I underwent a series of surgeries
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Durante os próximos anos
fiz uma série de cirurgias
05:08
on my hips, my legs and my back
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nos quadris, pernas e coluna
05:11
that allowed me to walk
with leg braces and crutches.
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que me permitiram andar
com órteses e muletas.
05:15
As a child, I struggled
with my disability.
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Quando criança, lutei
contra minha deficiência.
05:19
I felt like I didn't fit in.
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Eu sentia como se não me adaptasse.
05:21
People stared at me all the time,
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As pessoas me encaravam o tempo todo,
05:24
and I was embarrassed
about wearing a back brace and leg braces,
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e eu tinha vergonha de usar órteses
nas pernas e na coluna,
05:27
and I always hid my chicken legs
under my pants.
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e sempre escondia minhas pernas
debaixo das calças.
05:30
As a young girl, I thought thick,
heavy braces on my legs
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Quando garota, pensava
que aquelas órteses pesadas nas pernas
05:34
did not look pretty or feminine.
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não pareciam bonitas ou femininas.
05:37
Among my generation, I am one
of the very few individuals in the US
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Na minha geração, eu era
uma das poucas pessoas nos EUA
05:42
who are living with paralysis
by polio today.
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que possuía paralisia por poliomielite.
05:45
Many people who contract polio
in developing countries
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Muitas pessoas que contraem pólio
em países subdesenvolvidos
05:48
do not have access to the same
medical care, education,
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não possuem acesso ao mesmo
atendimento médico, educação,
05:52
or opportunities
like I have had in America.
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ou oportunidades como as que eu tive
nos Estados Unidos.
05:55
Many do not even live to reach adulthood.
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Muitos nem chegam à idade adulta.
05:59
I have the humbling knowledge
that, had I not been adopted,
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Eu tenho consciência
de que, se eu não tivesse sido adotada,
06:02
I most certainly
wouldn't be in front of you today.
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provavelmente nem estaria
aqui na frente hoje.
06:05
I may not even be alive.
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Eu poderia nem estar viva.
06:09
All of us, in our own lives,
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Todos nós, em nossas vidas,
06:11
may face seemingly insurmountable goals.
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podemos ter objetivos
aparentemente insuperáveis.
06:14
I want to share with you what I learned
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Quero compartilhar com vocês o que aprendi
06:16
when I tried again.
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quando tentei novamente.
06:19
One year after my first attempt,
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Um ano depois da minha primeira tentativa,
06:22
on a sunny Saturday morning,
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em uma manhã ensolarada de sábado,
06:25
my husband Shawn
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meu marido Shawn
06:26
dumped me into the ocean at the Kona Pier
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me colocou no mar, no pier de Kona,
06:28
and, with 2,500 of my closest
friends and competitors,
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e, com outros 2,5 mil
amigos e competidores,
06:32
we started swimming as that cannon
went off promptly at 7am.
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começamos a nadar por volta das 7h,
após o tiro de largada.
06:35
I focused on one stroke at a time,
staying in between bodies,
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Estava focada em cada braçada,
no meio daqueles corpos,
06:39
counting my strokes --
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contava toda braçada,
06:40
one, two, three, four --
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um, dois, três, quatro,
06:43
and lifting my head to sight
every so often
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tirando a cabeça da água de vez em quando
06:45
just so I wouldn't get too off track.
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para não me perder da rota.
06:47
And when I finally reached the shoreline,
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E quando finalmente cheguei na costa,
06:49
Shawn picked me up,
and he carried me out of the water.
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Shawn me pegou e me tirou da água.
06:52
I was so stunned and thrilled
when Shawn had told me I had managed
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Eu fiquei tão surpresa e extasiada
quando Shawn me disse que completei
06:56
a one-hour-and-43-minute swim time.
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a prova de natação em 1 hora e 43 minutos.
07:00
On to the bike segment.
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Passemos para a prova de ciclismo.
07:03
I had eight hours and 45 minutes
to complete the 112-mile bike course.
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Eu tinha 8 horas e 45 minutos
para completar o percurso de 180km.
07:09
I broke up the course
in seven- to 10-mile segments in my mind
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Quebrei mentalmente o percurso
em 7 partes de 16km
07:13
just to reduce the enormity of the race.
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na tentativa de reduzir
aquele enorme trajeto.
07:15
The first 40 miles, they clipped by
as we benefited from a little tail wind.
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Os primeiros 64km passaram voando,
com a ajuda de um vento favorável.
07:20
By 4pm, I had made it to mile 94,
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Às 16h, eu já tinha percorrido 151km,
07:24
and I did the math and I realized
I was in serious time jeopardy
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fiz as contas e percebi que estava
em um corrida contra o tempo
07:28
because I had 18 miles to go
and less than 90 minutes,
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pois ainda faltavam 29km,
eu tinha menos de 90 minutos,
07:32
and that included
a few sizable hill climbs.
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e ainda precisava subir
algumas ladeiras enormes.
07:35
I was stressed out, and I was scared
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Eu estava estressada, com muito medo
de não conseguir atingir o tempo limite.
07:37
that I wasn't going to make
that time cutoff again.
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Naquele ponto, ouvi
uma voz interna que me dizia:
07:39
At this point, I pushed
my internal voice aside that said,
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07:43
"This hurts. Quit."
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"Isto dói. Desista".
07:45
And I told myself,
"Minda, you better focus.
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E disse a mim mesma:
"Minda, você precisa focar.
07:48
Focus on what you can control,
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Foque o que você pode controlar,
07:50
and that is your attitude
and your effort."
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sua atitude e seu esforço".
07:52
I resolved to be OK being uncomfortable,
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Decidi que estava tudo bem
em me sentir desconfortável,
07:56
and I told myself, "Push harder,
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e me disse: "Força,
07:57
forget about the pain,
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esqueça a dor
07:59
and keep that laser focus."
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e mantenha a dedicação e concentração".
08:01
For the next 90 minutes, I cranked
as though my life depended on it.
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Pelos próximos 90 minutos, pedalei
como se a minha vida dependesse disso.
08:08
And when I rolled into town,
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E, quando cheguei na cidade,
08:10
I heard on the loudspeaker,
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ouvi o alto-falante anunciar:
08:12
"Minda Dentler is one of the last
competitors to make the bike cutoff."
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"Minda Dentler é uma das últimas
a alcançar o tempo de corte no ciclismo".
08:17
I did it!
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Eu consegui!
08:19
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
08:24
By only three minutes.
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Por apenas três minutos.
08:25
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
08:27
It was 5:27pm,
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Eram 17h27,
08:30
and I had been racing
for 10-and-a-half hours.
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e eu estava competindo
há dez horas e meia.
08:34
The first 10 miles of the run
went pretty quickly,
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Os primeiros 16km da corrida
passaram voando,
08:37
as I was so excited to finally pass people
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e eu estava tão animada
por finalmente ultrapassar os outros
08:40
with my three wheels to their two feet.
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usando minhas três rodas
contra as duas pernas dos outros.
08:43
The sun quickly went down,
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O sol rapidamente se pôs
08:45
and I found myself pulling up
to the bottom of Palani hill,
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e me encontrei empurrando minha cadeira
até o topo do monte Palani,
08:48
looking straight into a half-mile hill
that looked like Mt. Everest
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olhava fixamente para a colina de 800m
que parecia o Monte Everest
08:52
at mile 124 of the race.
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depois de 200km percorridos.
08:54
My friends and family
were ready at their stations
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Meus amigos e familiares
estavam preparados
08:57
to talk me up that hill.
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para me mandar subir aquela ladeira.
08:59
I was struggling, tired,
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Eu estava lutando, cansada,
09:00
desperately gripping those rims
just so I wouldn't tip backwards.
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agarrando aquelas rodas desesperadamente
sem pensar em olhar para trás.
09:04
When I finally reached
the top of that hill,
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Quando finalmente
alcancei o topo daquela colina,
09:07
I turned left onto a very lonely
15-mile stretch onto the Queen K Highway,
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virei à esquerda para percorrer um caminho
solitário de 24km pela rodovia Queen K,
09:13
totally exhausted.
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totalmente exausta.
09:14
I pressed on, focusing
on one push at a time.
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E continuei, concentrando-me
em um empurrão por vez.
09:20
By 9:30pm,
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Às 21h30,
09:22
I made that final right-hand turn
onto Ali'i Drive.
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entrei na reta final na Ali'i Drive.
09:26
I heard the crowd's roar,
and I was overcome with emotion.
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Ouvi os gritos da multidão
e fui tomada pela emoção.
09:30
I crossed that finish line.
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Eu cruzei a linha final.
09:33
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
09:43
(Applause ends)
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09:44
And my final time
was 14 hours and 39 minutes.
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O meu tempo total
foi de 14 horas e 39 minutos.
09:49
For the first time in the 35-year history,
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Pela primeira vez, em 35 edições da prova,
09:53
a female wheelchair athlete
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uma atleta cadeirante
09:55
completed the Ironman World Championship.
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completou o Campeonato Mundial de Ironman.
09:57
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
10:05
(Applause ends)
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10:07
And it wasn't just any female athlete.
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E não era uma atleta qualquer.
10:09
It was me.
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Era eu.
10:10
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
10:12
A paralyzed orphan from India.
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Uma órfã paraplégica da Índia.
10:17
Against all odds, I achieved my dream,
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Contra todas as dificuldades,
alcancei meu sonho,
10:21
and through this very personal
commitment to myself,
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e embora esse fosse
um compromisso pessoal,
10:24
I slowly realized
that completing the Ironman
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aos poucos me dei conta
de que completar o Ironman
10:27
was about more than conquering Kona.
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era muito mais do que vencer o Kona.
10:30
It was about conquering polio
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Era vencer a poliomielite
10:32
and other disabling
but preventable diseases,
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e outras doenças incapacitantes,
mas que podem ser prevenidas,
10:36
not only for myself,
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não apenas para mim,
10:38
but for the millions of children
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mas para milhões de crianças
10:39
who have been and still will be
afflicted by vaccine-preventable diseases.
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que foram e que ainda serão afetadas
por doenças para as quais existe vacina.
10:45
Today, we are closer than ever
to eliminating one of those diseases
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Hoje, estamos mais perto do que nunca
de eliminar uma dessas doenças
10:50
everywhere in the world.
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do nosso mundo.
10:52
In the mid-1980s, polio once paralyzed
more than 350,000 children a year
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Na década de 80, a pólio afetava
mais de 350 mil crianças por ano
10:59
in more than 125 countries.
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em mais de 125 países.
11:01
That amounted to a staggering
40 cases an hour.
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3858
O que significava
cerca de 40 casos por hora.
11:05
By contrast, so far this year,
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Em contrapartida, neste ano,
11:07
the last endemic countries
have reported a total of only 12 cases.
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os últimos países endêmicos
reportaram um total de 12 casos.
11:12
Since 1988, more than 2.5 billion children
have been immunized against polio,
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Desde 1988, mais de 2,5 bilhões
de crianças foram vacinadas contra a pólio
11:19
and an estimated 16 million children,
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e cerca de 16 milhões de crianças
11:21
who otherwise would have been
paralyzed like me,
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que poderiam ficar paraplégicas como eu
11:24
are walking.
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estão andando.
11:25
Despite this incredible progress,
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Apesar desse progresso incrível,
11:28
we know that until it's eradicated,
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sabemos que, até sua erradicação,
11:30
polio remains a very real threat,
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2544
a pólio ainda representa uma ameaça real,
11:33
especially to children
in the poorest communities of the world.
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3839
especialmente para as crianças
das comunidades mais pobres do mundo.
11:36
It can reemerge in some of the most remote
and dangerous places,
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Ela pode ressurgir nos lugares
mais remotos e perigosos,
11:40
and from there, it can spread.
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e dali se espalhar.
11:43
And so this is my new Ironman:
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E este é o meu novo Ironman:
11:47
to end polio.
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acabar com a pólio.
11:50
And I am reminded every day,
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E eu me lembro disso todos os dias,
11:52
when I look at my
two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Maya.
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3747
quando olho pra minha filha Maya,
de dois anos e meio.
11:56
She is able to climb a ladder in the park,
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2508
Ela pode subir a escada do parquinho,
11:58
push her scooter
or kick a ball across the grass.
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andar de patinete
e chutar uma bola na grama.
12:01
Almost everything
that I see her do at her age
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Quase tudo que eu a vejo fazer nesta idade
12:05
reminds me of what I could not
do at that age.
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me faz lembrar do que eu
não podia fazer com a mesma idade.
12:08
And when she was two months old,
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Quando ela tinha dois meses,
12:10
I took her to get her first polio vaccine.
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4189
levei-a para tomar
sua primeira vacina contra a pólio.
12:15
And when the doctor came
in the room to prepare the shot,
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3524
Quando o médico veio dar a injeção,
12:19
I asked him if I could take a picture
to document the moment.
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eu perguntei se poderia tirar uma foto
para registrar o momento.
12:24
When we left the room,
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1463
Quando saímos da sala,
12:26
I could feel my eyes
welling up with tears.
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3209
podia sentir as lágrimas nos olhos.
12:29
I cried the entire way home.
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3216
Chorei até chegar em casa.
12:33
It was in that moment that I realized
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2524
Foi ali que notei
12:36
that my daughter's life
would be very different from mine.
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que a vida da minha filha
seria muito diferente da minha.
12:39
She will never be faced
with the crippling disability of polio,
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3064
Ela jamais seria incapacitada
pela poliomielite,
12:42
because a vaccine was available,
and I chose to get her immunized.
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4605
porque a vacina estava disponível,
e eu decidi imunizá-la.
12:47
She can do anything she wants,
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2817
Ela pode fazer tudo o que quiser,
12:51
as can each of you.
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assim como cada um de vocês.
12:53
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
12:54
Now I'd like to leave you all
with one question:
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Agora eu gostaria de deixar vocês
com um questionamento:
12:57
what is your Ironman?
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qual é o seu Ironman?
13:01
Thank you.
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Obrigada.
13:03
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Viviam Oliveira
Reviewed by Ricardo Hoffmann

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Minda Dentler - Athlete, activist
A record-setting triathlete, Minda Dentler is a polio survivor committed to inspiring people to move beyond their fear of failure and achieve their goals.

Why you should listen

Minda Dentler's life is one of inspiration, courage and determination. As an infant in India, she contracted polio, resulting in the paralysis of her legs, and was left at an orphanage. When she was three, she was adopted by an American family which enabled her to receive the medical care necessary to be able to walk with leg braces and crutches.

Undeterred by her disability, Dentler became an independent woman with the intention and drive to face and overcome the many obstacles she has encountered throughout her life. As an adult, she discovered athletics and threw herself into the sport of triathlon. In 2013, she became the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship, in Kona, Hawaii.

Dentler is an athlete, speaker, advocate and mother. She has been featured on CNN, Forbes and NBC. She has written for Huffington Post and TIME, advocating for the eradication of polio. She was a 2017 Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow. She works for a large global insurer and, with her husband, is raising a young daughter. She's committed to inspiring people to move beyond their fear of failure and achieve their goals.

More profile about the speaker
Minda Dentler | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM