Interview, Fireside Chat
Advancing Inclusion Through Leadership with Boston Athletic Association’s Dr. Cheri Blauwet
- Dr. Sherry Blauwet serves as Chief Medical Officer at Spalding Rehabilitation Network, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and newly appointed chair of the Board of Governors for the Boston Athletic Association (BAA).
- She won eight marathons and represented the United States at three Paralympic Games, earning one gold, one silver, and five bronze medals.
- Blauwet acquired a spinal cord injury at 20 months due to a farming accident in rural Iowa, initially preventing her from self-identifying as an athlete until high school.
- A high school track coach introduced her to wheelchair racing at the Iowa State girls' track meet, where she initially declined due to a lack of visibility of disabled athletes in the sport.
- Attendance at the state track meet in Des Moines exposed her to a community of peer wheelchair racers with racing-specific chairs, which shifted her focus from isolation to competitive social engagement.
- To join the Des Moines wheelchair racing team, she drove a four-hour one-way commute from her family farm in northwest Iowa to attend weekend practices.
- Her competitive trajectory evolved from local high school meets to collegiate training, leading to her qualification for her first Paralympic Games.
- Blauwet identifies "lowered expectations" as a pervasive bias where society defaults to pity for marginalized groups (e.g., people with disabilities, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals) rather than envisioning high achievement.
- She advocates for "intentionality" in leadership, which involves directly questioning individuals about their big dreams, identifying barriers to those goals, and actively normalizing risk-taking and failure as part of the path to success.
- As founding director of the Kelly Adaptive Sports Research Institute, she aims to reframe adaptive sports from a niche activity to a broad public health strategy applicable to over 25% of the adult U.S. population with disabilities.
- The Institute focuses on "sticky factors" that facilitate long-term engagement in physical activity for diverse groups, including stroke survivors, those with arthritis, and older adults adapting to mobility changes.
- Following the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, the BAA has expanded its mission to prioritize year-round community impact and health promotion over the 365 days of the year, not just on race day.
- The BAA has grown its resources and established a specific arm dedicated to community impact, including a small grants program supporting local running clubs and nonprofits.
- Strategic partnerships with corporations like Bank of America are critical for the BAA to expand geographic reach, generate fundraising resources, and align brand marketing with the mission of enhancing health through sport.
- Blauwet's primary advice for aspiring athletes is to maintain perspective and "have fun," noting that excessive linearity in training can lead to stress and a loss of motivation.
- She cites the visibility of wheelchair racers to young spectators as a key motivator, where children's reactions to seeing disabled athletes change community mindsets about what is possible.
- While she won individual marathons, her longevity in the sport was sustained by the broader impact of changing societal perceptions of disability.
- Blauwet is not expected to run in the upcoming Boston Marathon, citing a current personal limit of five miles, though she remains deeply involved in the event's leadership.