Olympics-After beating cancer and COVID, Lowe refuses to back down

FILE PHOTO: U.S. women's high jumper Chaunte Lowe reacts following the women's high jump finals at the U.S. Olympic athletics trials in Eugene, Oregon June 30, 2012. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Olympic medallist Chaunte Lowe said that beating breast cancer only to come down with a potentially life-threatening case of COVID-19 has added fuel to her desire to defy the odds and make a fifth U.S. Olympic team.

In 2019, the American high jumper discovered a lump and, after initially being told by a doctor not to worry about it, later discovered it was an aggressive form of cancer that required a double mastectomy and gruelling chemotherapy sessions.