Cyclist Dennis Connors can now add "Team USA Paralympian" to his patriotic resume.

At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, the 38-year-old veteran and dad of two from Oregon, will make his debut in the road races while sporting the colors of the United States — red, white, and blue.

“I'm even more proud to represent my country now,” Connors said. “This is now the third time. Once as a youth, once in the military, and now once as a Paralympic athlete.”

Connors was 16 years old the first time he wore the Team USA uniform as a junior member of the able-bodied U.S. rock climbing team. It’s become a lifetime passion of his — he’s the 2022 U.S. para climbing champion and plans to compete in the sport's debut at the 2028 LA Paralympics.

“I put on a Team USA youth national team sweatshirt and it was my most treasured possession at the time,” he said. “And I was so proud to represent my country.”

He’d later serve nine years in the United States Marine Corps. While in the military, he worked in various intelligence roles, was deployed to Iraq three times, and received defense awards for his service.

“Being injured in combat, I faced moments of doubt and despair. But it was the spirit of perseverance and camaraderie that I learned in the military that pushed me forward,” Connors told Comcast NBCUniversal in July. “Every time I see the American flag, it’s a powerful reminder of what we have accomplished as a nation and of what we can overcome.”

It was Project Hero, a veteran's nonprofit, that would introduce him to para cycling in 2016. He started casually and then began competing in the T2 classification on a tricycle after having a stroke.

In 2021, Connors won a bronze medal in his world championships debut. Although he performed well at the U.S. Paralympic Trials that summer, he narrowly missed making the team for the Tokyo Games.

Despite missing out, Connors has continued his para cycling career with the resilience he's displayed his entire life.

Since his first race, he’s become a five-time para cycling World Cup winner and six-time U.S. national champion. According to Connors, his proudest achievement was when he became the men’s road race trike world champion in 2023 — just days after he and his entire team had the stomach flu.

“In the time trial I performed very poorly, realized later that day I had the stomach flu, spent a whole day throwing up,” he recalled. “Two days later, still didn't feel great, got to the line and was like, well, here we go. And hung on and in the last three kilometers decided I can take this race, and so, I took it.”

This year, all of Connors' hard work led him to qualify as the only tricyclist on Team USA. An achievement he’s proud of. But as a husband and stay-at-home dad of two children, it’s also about what his kids think.  

“They absolutely love that I compete for Team USA. They're super proud, sometimes they like to brag about it a little too much,” he said. “They're just really into it and my kids can tell you what's going on in the Tour de France race.”

At the Paris Paralympics, Connors will compete in the T1-2 time trial on Wednesday, Sept. 4 and road race on Saturday, Sept. 7. He’ll be proud to wear his Team USA gear and cycle with his wife’s advice in mind.

“When I get really, really, really too serious about everything, I start to decline and so then she brings me back,” he said. “She's like, ‘Remember, it's bike racing. It's fun. Go out there and have fun and if you're having fun, you're gonna perform.’”