North Texas cycling is in mourning again. Dory Selinger, a decorated World, Paralympic and USA National Champion cyclist and respected mentor in the cycling community, was killed on Thursday morning after being struck by a vehicle while riding near Alma Drive and the Sam Rayburn Tollway in McKinney.
Selinger’s wife, Laura, said she became alarmed just after 6 a.m. when she received an alert from his tracking device indicating he had been in an accident. Police confirmed he died at the scene.
Selinger was known for riding the route daily, often spending an hour and a half on the bike. Even after retiring from professional competition, cycling remained a central part of his life. McKinney Police said the crash remains under investigation.
Born in San Francisco on 13 October 1971, Selinger’s story was already one of extraordinary resilience. On 16 January 1993, while training near Danville, California, he was struck by a vehicle driven by an individual in a psychotic state, resulting in a below-the-knee amputation of his right leg, a seven-day coma, and the death of his teammate Vladimir Quinn. Rather than abandon the sport, he returned to competition and rebuilt his career from scratch.
The results spoke for themselves. Selinger won Paralympic gold in Atlanta in 1996, earned three medals at the 2000 Sydney Games, and became a three-time world champion. His custom-engineered prosthetic leg, developed with prosthetist John Russell, revolutionised amputee cycling much like the Fosbury Flop revolutionised the high jump. After retiring from competition in 2002, he qualified as a licensed prosthetist-orthotist and dedicated himself to improving mobility for amputees.
The loss lands hard on the North Texas cycling community, which has suffered a grim run of road fatalities. Gran Fondo Daily News reported on the three other North Texas cyclists killed in car crashes recently. Fellow rider Jim Davis noted this was the second cyclist his group had lost in just one month. “So for us to lose two people in the span of a month is crushing,” Davis told NBC 5 Dallas.
Plans are underway for a memorial ride in Selinger’s honour.
Photo Credit: doryselinger.com
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