'Return From Rio Breakfast' Event Celebrates Paralympic Athletes, Today

Allysa Seely, paratriathlon gold medalist at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, two-time world champion and 15-time World Cup medalist, will keynote the Return From Rio Breakfast, Friday, Oct. 21 from 7:30-8:30 a.m. at the Ability360 Sports & Fitness Center, 5031 E. Washington St.

The event, presented by the Arizona Community Foundation's Jerry Colangelo Center for Sports Philanthropy and Ability360, will recognize and celebrate athletes from Arizona and elsewhere who joined Seely on Team USA including long jumper Trenten Merrill from San Juan Capistrano, Calif. and three-time paralympian wheelchair tennis player Kaitlyn Verfuerth from Flagstaff, among others.

There is no charge, but advance registration is required.

Return From Rio sets the stage for the fourth annual Duel in the Desert, a two-day adaptive sports tournament presented by Lovitt & Touché featuring top teams and champion athletes from across the nation in wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, power soccer, stand-up amputee basketball and wheelchair lacrosse.

Tournament action begins at 10 a.m. Friday in a round robin format. Champions in each event will be determined on Saturday.

There is no charge to attend Duel in the Desert. In addition to the games, food trucks and entertainment featuring Wandering Donkey and The Panini People are scheduled.

Seely's paratriathlon competition included swimming (750 meters), cycling (20 kilometers) and running (5 kilometers). Previously, she won paratriathlon championships at the 2016 World Championships and the 2016 CanAm Games. She is a seven-time international medalist who holds the 200-meter American record and the 400-meter Pan American record.

For more information and to register for the Return to Rio Breakfast, visit www.ReturnFromRio2016.eventbrite.com. For more information about Ability360, visit www.ability360.org. For more information about the Jerry Colangelo Center for Sports Philanthropy at Arizona Community Foundation, visit www.azfoundation.org/colangelocenter.

ABOUT THE ARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: Established in 1978, the Arizona Community Foundation is a statewide family of charitable funds supported by thousands of Arizonans. With five regional offices serving communities across Arizona, ACF is among the top 30 community foundations in the nation with more than $775 million in trust and endowment assets, and is certified under the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. Last year, ACF and its affiliates awarded more than $56 million in grants and scholarship funding to thousands of nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies. More information is available at www.azfoundation.org.

ABOUT ABILITY360: Ability360, formerly Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL), continues a 35-year tradition of empowering programs for people with all disabilities. Ability360 offers and promotes programs to empower people with disabilities to take personal responsibility so that they may achieve or continue independent lifestyles within the community. The independent living philosophy states that people with disabilities should have the same civil rights, options, and control over choices in their own lives as do people without disabilities. Ability360 is located at 5025 E. Washington St. Ste. 200, Phoenix, AZ 85034, www.ability360.org, 602-256-2245.

ABOUT THE ABILITY360 SPORTS & FITNESS CENTER: The Ability360 Sports and Fitness Center is a 45,000-square foot, state-of-the-art facility located in Phoenix, Arizona. Owned and operated by Ability360, the Sports & Fitness Center offers a wide variety of amenities to help you achieve your health and fitness goals including a fitness center with wheelchair accessible weight machines, an aquatic area equipped with lifts and elevators, accessible locker rooms, and more.

(Photo Credit: Ability360)