Lindy Hou has a degenerative eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa and has been legally blind since 1996. She was a fiercely competitive triathlete and a successful triathlon coach but when her eyesight deteriorated she was forced to give up competitive cycling and coaching. For many, this would have meant the end but Lindy rediscovered the joy of cycling on a tandem bike in 1999.

After narrowly missing selection for the Sydney 2000 Paralympic cycling squad, Lindy was determined to fulfil her dream of representing Australia and becoming one of the best in the world.

To have the best possible chance for gold in Athens, she created the “Athens Express” Tandem Cycling Team which comprised of two pilots: Janelle Lindsay and Toireasa Gallagher. Janelle competed with Lindy in the sprints and kilo event and Toireasa rode with her in the pursuit and road races. It was a successful tactic with Lindy winning one gold and one bronze medal with Janelle and two silvers with Toireasa.

After Athens, Toireasa became Lindy’s only pilot and rode with her in every race over the next four years. In 2006, they won two gold medals at the IPC World Cycling Championships and in 2008 won a silver in the individual pursuit and a bronze in the 1km time trial at the Beijing Paralympics. Lindy is very happy with the results from her last Paralympic Games and enjoyed every moment of the experience.

Lindy is now retired from paracycling and plans to focus on her career as a professional speaker.