Popeye had his spinach. Competitive cyclist Hannah Jordan has her “Super Juice.”
Jordan, a 15-year-old from Tulsa, Okla. wears a special backpack under her kit carrying sugar water. It’s not to gain some sort of competitive edge either. She totes it to keep her alive.
Jordan was born with a metabolic disorder which prevents her from storing glycogen and from producing an appropriate amount of glucose.
When she was six, she had a G-tube inserted into her stomach so the dextrose solution could be pumped in to keep her blood sugar levels within a normal range.
Because of her condition, she couldn’t play sports for most of her life. However, cycling was the one thing she could do.
This gritty rider logs 100 to 150 miles a week and dreams of turning pro and competing in the 2020 Olympic Games.
“When I got on the bike, it was almost like my problems weren’t there,” she told Great Big Story.
And she believes her condition makes her a stronger person.
“I like to tell people it’s sort of coded in my DNA to be a fighter,” she said. “Anyone that’s been in the hospital for a long time, or gone through some struggles or pain or suffering, they just know how to dig deep and tap in to be resilient.”
Take a look at Jordan in Great Big Story’s short film:
