When 21-year-old Lukas Verzbicas turned pro as a triathlete, he got death threats. As a teenager, he鈥檇 been billed as the next great hope in American running, becoming only the fifth high school star to break the four-minute barrier in the mile. As some runners saw it, he鈥檇 betrayed their sport. But according to Verzbicas, triathlon, something he鈥檇 pursued since he was 11 years old, was always his true passion. In 2011, he graduated early from high school and in Rio de Janeiro.

THE CRASH: Verzbicas had already picked up on the World Cup circuit when, during a workout in July 2012, he and slammed into a guardrail. He punctured a lung, broke two vertebrae, and partially severed his spinal cord.

THE DAMAGE: Doctors screwed his clavicle back together and implanted 鈥╝ titanium rod along his spine. But there was nothing they could do for his paralyzed right leg other than hope it would regain movement as his spinal cord mended. 鈥淚 had to become a new person after that,鈥� he says, 鈥渘ew tissue, new muscle, and new nerves.鈥�

THE REBIRTH: Three months later, when he started relearning how to walk, his muscles had atrophied. Instead of giving up, Verzbicas used it as an opportunity to remake himself. Now he lifts weights four or five times a week, and he鈥檚 stronger than ever. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 be the same as I once was,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut I can be better.鈥�

BACK IN THE SADDLE: Miraculously, two years after the accident, he鈥檚 again near the top of the pro ranks. In races this spring, he scored two top-ten finishes.

UP NEXT: In August, he鈥檒l test himself at the under-23 world championships in Edmonton, Alberta. The race will be one more step along what he has come to call his long road to Rio. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been my dream since I was a kid,鈥� says Verzbicas, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 stronger than ever.鈥�

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