Paralympic power

Nineteen-year-old Adam Bleakney had just finished his freshman year of college when he was mountain biking and crashed into a tree in Breckinridge, Colo. He only remembers snippets of what happened next: He couldn’t get up. A rescue crew cut down trees so a helicopter could airlift him to a nearby hospital.

The accident in 1995 left Bleakney with a spinal cord injury. He spent two months in recovery and was paralyzed from the waist down.

Yet his disability didn’t deter him from his love of sports. When he learned the University of Illinois had a comprehensive athletic program dedicated to students with disabilities, he transferred to compete in wheelchair racing. Bleakney later went on to compete in the Paralympics—winning a silver medal in Athens in 2004—and now works at the university as its wheelchair track coach.

The Paralympic Games, with roots stretching back to 1948, have helped many people find a sense of power despite disabilities. This summer’s Paralympics are in Tokyo, running from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5, with about 4,400 athletes competing. Twenty-one are current and former University of Illinois students—15 of whom were coached by Bleakney, including Tatyana McFadden, born with spina bifida, and Brian Siemann, paralyzed after complications at birth.

Illinois was the first university with a rehabilitation education program of its kind. Established in 1948 by Tim Nugent, an advocate for people with disabilities, it initially sought to serve World War II combat vets, although non-vets also attended. Before the advent of penicillin, people with spinal cord injuries had a short lifespan. One reason was incontinence, Bleakney explains: A catheter works but often causes kidney infections. With antibiotics, lifespans increased significantly. Nugent helped the vets develop necessary skills to be productive members of society.

The same year the University of Illinois started its program, Sir Ludwig Gutt­mann, a doctor working with spinal patients at the Stokes Mandeville Hospital in England, organized an archery competition to coincide with the opening day of the London Olympics. Sixteen paralyzed men and women competed. The event led to the inaugural Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. Sweden held the first Winter Paralympic Games in 1976.

Both Nugent and Guttmann recognized the value of sports for spinal patients. Building strength helped with daily living activities, such as transferring in and out of chairs or a car. And engaging in sports provided a sense of competency and power.

Bleakney recalls that desire. Right away, he taught himself to use a racing wheelchair. A year after his accident, the Paralympic Games came to Atlanta. “That was the first time the Paralympics had been held on U.S. soil,” he says. The buzz and excitement drew him in. He watched the Games that summer, and four years later, in Sydney, he participated for the first time. Today, he’s a four-time Paralympian. In Athens, he won silver in his disability class in the 800-meter race.

Because of the variety of disabilities represented, the Paralympic Games are organized into 10 impairment categories: visual impairment, intellectual impairment, and eight physical impairments—including amputee, impaired muscle power, and short stature.

Paralympic alpine skier T.C. Carter was born without a fibula in his right leg and underwent an amputation as a toddler. He has used a prosthetic ever since. He competes against other amputees, not vision-impaired or seated skiers.

Even within the same category, disabilities can vary widely. For instance, some athletes are on one leg and one ski with two outriggers (poles with skis attached to their bases). Some, like Carter, ski on two legs, but one leg is a prosthetic. Others have impairment in both legs and ski with a tether between the two skis.

Time adjustments and further classifications help level the playing field. “It’s not a perfect system,” Carter said, “but they’ve put a lot of thought into it and really try to make sure that everyone is being equally represented.” Carter is aiming to compete in the giant slalom (skiing downhill while curving around gates) and super-G (a similar event at higher speeds) at the March 2022 Paralympics in Beijing.

Bleakney says the Paralympics are important, and not just to the disabled community: “I find that sport acts as a common point of understanding, allowing all of us to better connect and understand our fellow human beings.”