WAIKOLOA 鈥� On December 9, 2025, two-time Paralympian Megan 鈥淢eg鈥� Fisher did what no other paracyclist, male or female, had ever done before 鈥� successfully ride from Anaehoomalu Bay at sea level, to the summit of Mauna Kea standing at 13,800 feet.
For those who have followed Fisher鈥檚 career over the years know that her athletic resume is mind-boggling. The 42-year old Canadian-American from Missoula, Montana won a gold medal, two silvers and a bronze for Team USA at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games and owns 11 World Championship titles. In addition to her cycling and triathlon career, Fisher is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, athletic performance coach, and motivational speaker.
Yet to truly appreciate this woman鈥檚 story, one needs to understand why the climb mattered so much to her. At age 19, Fisher was involved in a tragic car accident that claimed the life of her best friend and the lower half of her left leg. She also sustained a significant brain injury and spent a week in a coma on a ventilator. Rather than succumbing to the physical challenges that lay ahead of her young life, especially for an athlete fitted with a prosthesis, Fisher chose to rise above all challenges to turn the impossible, to possible.
Fisher said that climbing Mauna Kea quickly moved up on her bucket list after watching footage of others completing the daunting task.
鈥淢auna Kea is known to be the most challenging and hardest climb in the world,鈥� Fisher said during our interview. 鈥淭here are other climbs in Europe that get a lot of attention, but Mauna Kea is epic. There are very few opportunities in the world where you can go from sea level to approximately 14,000 feet. My friends and I were joking that it鈥檚 like going from the floor of the Everglades to the tallest peaks in Colorado, but you are only doing it in approximately 50 miles. It鈥檚 the condensed nature of Mauna Kea that makes it iconic.鈥�
Fisher said she only visited Maui twice to compete in the XTERRA World Championships but had never traveled the Big Island before. However, she had a friend, Mari Holden, who lived on island. Holden won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games time trial in Sydney, Australia and currently works for the USA Cycling Foundation. Holden also happened to be the very same woman who inspired Fisher to get involved in cycling years ago.
鈥淚t was a true full circle moment as Mari works for the USA Cycling Foundation and USA Cycling just recently integrated US Para-Cycling, so this is a very exciting time going into the LA Games for para-cycling,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, to get to ride Mauna Kea with Mari was very poetic because she was there for me from the beginning.鈥�
Just around 8 AM on a beautiful December morning, Fisher found herself with her Cannondale Road bike at the waters of Anaehoomalu Bay. She took a deep breath and dipped her wheels in 鈥� a symbolic measure of what athletes do before they attempt to make the climb from sea level to the top of Mauna Kea.
鈥淭here were a couple of feelings all at once,鈥� Fisher reflected on how she felt before the climb. 鈥淚t was what have I done, what have I signed up for because this is going to be uncomfortable. It鈥檚 a surreal climb for 54-miles as there is very little descent while climbing all day. I also felt very lucky as there are very few opportunities where you can do what you love all day long. It also felt very intimidating because it鈥檚 such a huge volcano. I wondered how my body would respond and whether or not I had done enough preparation. I wondered if I could do it before sunset, could I endure?
鈥淚 also had a setback in my family so I wasn鈥檛 able to do the preparation I wanted, but no one鈥檚 going to tell you that they are fully prepared for anything. Endurance sports for the most part is about being uncomfortable. For the most part I鈥檓 pretty good at being uncomfortable but everyone has their limits. I also have a lot of endurance built into my body so I knew that I could ride for a long time. My longest rides are over 200 miles in a day, so I knew I could do 50 miles but the question for Mauna Kea was, how would I deal with the altitude? How am I going to get through the gravel section? How am I going to keep going?鈥�
As Fisher began her journey to the top of Mauna Kea, with Holden and another USA Cycling supporter, Amy Brown, she knew her questions would soon be answered. For most of the ride, Fisher said she felt 鈥減retty good.鈥� But as the air thinned with sections of the road grade well over 20% at elevations above 12,000 feet, she thought about an important saying that kept her going 鈥� 鈥淭he challenges you choose prepare you for the challenges you don鈥檛 choose.鈥�
鈥淓very pedal stroke moved me closer to my goal,鈥� Fisher said. 鈥淪o, I just told myself to keep going though there were some of those steeper sections where I had to walk. I鈥檓 not ashamed for that. I just knew that if I kept going, I was getting closer to my goal. At no point did I ever think about stopping.鈥�
Nine hours and 30 minutes later, Fisher made history.
鈥淚 just couldn鈥檛 believe it happened,鈥� Fisher said of her accomplishment. 鈥淚 had a family setback just prior to, that really derailed my goals. I also found out that I was losing a bunch of sponsors for the following year, and I didn鈥檛 know what my career in cycling would look like moving forward. So, getting to the top of Mauna Kea truly put a bow on my cycling career.
鈥淚n endurance sports there is what is called, FKTs, or Fastest Known Times. Mauna Kea is one of those places where there is a small competition of who can reach the top in the fastest known time. Being the first para-athlete, I did get the fastest known time, male or female, to ever do it. I鈥檇 definitely like to come back to see if I could go faster. I keep hearing about what I can鈥檛 do, but I keep proving to myself that I can do it.鈥�
Fisher, who dedicates her life toward helping others overcome physical and emotional barriers, hopes her ride encourages others that there is no limit to what your mind and body can do.
鈥淐ycling is truly an accessible sport for almost anyone given a wheel,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 advocate a lot for para-inclusion in cycling because bikes are so enabling 鈥� whether it鈥檚 a hand cycle, a tricycle, a tandem bicycle and for some an e-bicycle. Bicycles can be fitted to just about anybody so I wanted to use this opportunity to ride the most iconic challenging climb in the world to show that, if I could do this, anybody can do it if they want to. It鈥檚 a huge endeavor but it鈥檚 totally doable.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檒l be able to come back and do Mauna Kea, I feel very lucky in the cycling world to have some pretty cool opportunities. I鈥檓 very grateful for the opportunity, grateful for the volcano cooperating, grateful for the weather. I couldn鈥檛 have done it without Mari, Amy, and Silvia who was our sag wagon, or Jeremy Mich for taking photos. In life, we never truly do anything alone.鈥�