Ashley Dyce’s Patience Paid Off With A Trip To Paris

Coming into the 2024 Para powerlifting season, Ashley Dyce had two chances to put herself in contention for a chance at making the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

In May, she didn’t complete a successful lift at a world cup event in Acapulco, Mexico. Without a world ranking in the women’s over 86 kg. weight class, she needed a notable best lift a month later in Tbilisi, Georgia, to keep her Paralympic hopes alive.

Dyce cleared 110 kg. on her first attempt to get herself on the board. That lift placed her at No. 12 in her class. With only the top eight powerlifters per class automatically qualifying for the Games, Dyce now had to be patient to find out her fate for Paris.

The U.S. Paralympics Powerlifting Discretionary Selection Committee nominated Dyce for a spot in the Games. On July 12, more than two weeks after the Tbilisi word cup event had concluded, Dyce found out she earned a bipartite slot to make her Paralympic debut.

“I don’t know all the details of how that worked out,” said Dyce, “but it did work out that they accepted my bid, and I’m going to the Games.”

It doesn’t matter that Dyce isn’t aware of the complicated process that resulted in her going to the Games; all that matters is the 37-year-old from Colton, California, has achieved a dream she’s worked toward for a decade.

Dyce said she was initially shocked when she received word that she had made the U.S. team.

“I got emotional and excited and all those things wrapped in one. You never know how it’s going to go,” she said. “I’m excited to go. I’m excited to represent this country. I’m excited to be on that stage with amazing athletes from all over the world.”

While awaiting the decision, Dyce kept training to stay ready for the Games if she qualified. Lifting also helped keep her mind off thinking about if she would make the team or not.

“I kind of just went with the mindset of no matter what the result was, I was going to stay on track,” she said. “I was still going to keep up with my training, keep up with my nutrition, keep up with my sports psychology. Just maintaining that mentality of keep going forward.

“It obviously is difficult to just wait and to hear. I just try to do things to distract myself or just keep relaxed.”

This accomplishment comes after Dyce suffered a severe injury in July 2022 that kept her from competing for more than a year.

Her push for Paris began last November at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, where Dyce placed sixth with a best lift of 103 kg.

“I was just happy and proud of myself that I can kind of make this comeback,” she said. “It was just a good feeling to know that, OK, I’m on the right track, and I’m moving forward, and that going into this season, I had a little bit more confidence that it was going to be good, and things are getting better.”

With the Paralympics set to begin on Aug. 28, Dyce is more focused on maintaining her endurance and strength rather than trying to max out during training. She said she’d prefer to save the heaviest lifts for the sport’s biggest competition.

Before Dyce made the team, Bobby Body was the only U.S. powerlifter heading to Paris, as he currently holds the No. 3 ranking in the men’s up to 107 kg. class. The 50-year-old Body will also be making his Paralympic debut.

“I get to go with an amazing teammate and watch him perform, as well,” Dyce said. “Now we can talk and have this great experience.”

When she’s not competing in Paris, Dyce will try to get out and watch some of the other sports. She specifically mentioned trying to catch track and field and swimming.

Watching track and field would be fitting, as Dyce was a Para national champion and an Americas record holder in the discus before she discovered powerlifting and switched to lifting full time.

More recently, she became a certified life coach. But that side of her life will be on hold until she returns from the Paralympics. 

Beyond Paris, Dyce is hoping to keep training to qualify for the Los Angeles Games in 2028. Her hometown of Colton is just 56 miles from LA, which could make that the perfect swan song.

“When I think about ending my career, I figured that would be a great note to end it on, if I do retire,” Dyce said. “That’s definitely the goal right after this. That’s the next big thing. That would be awesome.”

Bob Reinert spent 17 years covering sports for The Boston Globe. He also served as a sports information director at Saint Anselm College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He is a contributor to usparapowerlifting.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.