At the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Team USA featured more than 200 athletes and the Americans brought home a total of 99 medals.
August 29, 2010 marks two years out to the 2012 Games and as we gear up to London, here are just a few U.S. athletes to keep an eye out for over the next couple years.
ARCHERY
Team USA veteran Jeff Fabry (Tulare, Calif.) is a three-time Paralympic bronze medalist and a world-record setting performance at the 2009 Para-Archery World Championships shows he’s still a threat to make the podium in London.
U.S. Army veteran Russell Wolfe (Williamsburg, Va.) made his Paralympic Games debut in Beijing and has shown rapid improvement as he continues to gain international competition experience. Wolfe nabbed his first medal at a major international competition by winning bronze at last year’s world championships.
Newcomer Jonathan Mize (Muncie, Ind.) made his debut on the international archery scene at the world championships in 2009 and just narrowly missed a spot on the podium with a fourth place finish.
CYCLING
American cyclists made a strong statement at the 2010 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, collecting a total of 14 medals in the road race and time trial events.
Oz Sanchez (San Diego, Calif.), Allison Jones (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Megan Fisher (Missoula, Mont.) led the way as each swept their respective classification and earned two gold medals apiece.
Also making podium appearances for Team USA and athletes to continue to watch heading toward 2012 are Greta Neimanas (Chicago, Ill.), Muffy Davis (Salt Lake City, Utah), Anthony Zahn (Riverside, Calif.), Kelly Crowley (Redwood, Calif.), Matt Updike (Denver, Colo.) and Barb Buchan (Bend, Ore.).
On the track, Beijing gold medalists Jennifer Schuble (Homewood, Ala.) and the tandem team of Karissa Whitsell (Eugene, Ore.) and pilot Mackenzie Woodring (Grand Rapids, Mich.) look to return to defend their Paralympic titles while newcomers Sam Kavanagh (Bozeman, Mont.), Aaron Trent (Columbia, S.C.) and tandem team of Clark Rachfal (Annapolis, Md.) and pilot Dave Swanson (Tucson, Ariz.) are already showing they’ll be vying for spots on the podium in London.
Look for Neimanas, Jones and Crowley to be strong contenders on the track, as well.
FENCING
Wheelchair fencing hasn’t been a traditionally strong sport for the U.S. Paralympic Team, but 14 year old phenom Cat Bouwkamp (Fishers, Ind.) is looking to change that fact.
In 2009, Bouwkamp won bronze in the sabre discipline at the 9th annual Wheelchair Fencing World Cup and became the first U.S. woman to medal at a World Cup event.
Surgery sidelined Bouwkamp for the early part of 2010, but she still managed to earn a spot on the podium at the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Cup this past May, picking up a bronze in the epee, and then swept all three disciplines at the 2010 U.S. Wheelchair Fencing National Championships in July.
Next up, Bouwkamp will represent Team USA at the 2010 Wheelchair Fencing World Championships in Paris this November.
GOALBALL
The 2008 U.S. Paralympic Women’s Goalball Team topped the medal podium in Beijing, winning the first-ever goalball gold medal for Team USA. A silver medal performance at the 2010 world championships proves the Americans are on track to be strong medal contenders in London.
Fourth place finishes at both the 2008 Paralympic Games and the 2010 world championships have the American men hungry for a top-3, medal-winning performance in 2012.
JUDO
After a disappointing fifth place finish at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Myles Porter (Toledo, Ohio) has been on a mission to prove he’ll be a gold medal threat in London.
Porter has racked up numerous wins at both national and international tournaments over the past two seasons and is currently the top-ranked visually impaired judo player at 100kg.
POWERLIFTING
Team USA hasn’t won a medal in powerlifting at the Paralympic Games since taking gold and silver in the men’s 100+kg division at the 2000 Games in Sydney and a crop of up-and-coming American athletes look to help the U.S. break that drought in London.
Team USA put forth strong performances at the 2010 IPC Powerlifting World Championships, setting the stage to potentially contend for medals in 2012.
Jake Schrom (Carlisle, Pa.), Leroy Sutton (Tempe, Ariz.), Ahmed Shafik (Tucson, Ariz.) and Chelsi Figley (East Palestine, Ohio) lead the young group of newcomers while veteran Mary Stack (Ann Arbor, Mich.) brings poise and experience to the table as she looks to make her fourth U.S. Paralympic Team.
ROWING
The sport of rowing made its Paralympic Games debut in Beijing in 2008 and Team USA’s mixed four with coxswain boat made history by winning a silver medal its first time out.
Returning from the silver medal squad is Emma Preuschl (Indianapolis, Ind.) and keep an eye on newcomer and U.S. Army veteran Eric McDaniel (Weeki Wachee, Fla.), who was recently named to his second world championships team.
2008 Paralympic Games bronze medalist Laura Schwanger (Harrisburg, Pa.) continues to be a leading contender in the women’s single sculls event and will represent Team USA at the 2010 World Rowing Championships in New Zealand.
Seven-time national team member Ron Harvey (Long Beach, Calif.) finished fifth in the men’s single sculls race in Beijing and is working hard to make the jump to the medal podium in London.
SITTING VOLLEYBALL
After a shocking bronze medal win at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team has become a force on the international scene. The women claimed silver at the 2008 Games in Beijing and also won silver at the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships. With a strong core of experienced veterans on the team, and two more years of training and development before the London Games, Team USA has a solid shot at the top of the medal podium in 2012.
The U.S. men didn’t qualify to compete at the 2008 Games in Beijing, but have made steady improvements and claimed a top-10 finish at the 2010 world championships.
SWIMMING
If the results from the recent 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships are any indication of how Team USA will perform in London, expect to see a lot of red, white and blue on the podium in 2012.
Team USA hauled in 57 medals, placing second in the overall medal tally. Leading the way for the women were Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md.) and Mallory Weggemann (Eagan, Minn.) who each won eight medals in eight events and will certainly be multiple medal threats in London, as well. Kelley Becherer (Sheboygan, Wis.) and Cortney Jordan (Henderson, Nev.) are also strong contenders to contribute a pile of medals for Team USA.
Rudy Garcia-Tolson (Bloomington, Calif.), Roy Perkins (Del Mar, Calif.) and Lantz Lamback (Augusta, Ga.) all have gold medals to defend from the 2008 Games in Beijing and continue to show they’ll be tough to knock off the podium come 2012.
TRACK & FIELD
At the 2008 Paralympic Games, Team USA track & field athletes won 28 medals and hope to build on their momentum from Beijing.
The U.S. women’s wheelchair racing division has solid depth. Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Md.), who was a four-time Paralympic medalist in Beijing, dominated the competition at the 2010 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships by winning four gold and one silver. A likely member of the roster for the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships, McFadden is sure to continue her winning ways.
Teammate Jessica Galli (Hillsborough, N.J.), five-time Paralympic medalist from 2008, also churned out some top performances at Nationals and will surely let her presence be known at Worlds.
Amanda McGrory (Kennett Square, Pa.), another standout performer among the women’s wheelchair racing team, is best known in the women’s distance races and will be one to watch in the marathon.
On the men’s wheelchair racing side, four-time Paralympic medalist Joshua George (Fairfax, Va.), will look to continue his dominance in the sprint distance races and keep your eye on Jordan Bird (Tucson, Ariz.), who is looking to make his Paralympic Games debut in London.
Visually impaired long jumper and two-time Paralympic silver medalist Elexis Gillette (Raleigh, N.C) will undoubtedly be after the gold that has eluded him in two previous Paralympic Games.
Jerome Singleton (Irmo, S.C.) is the man to beat among American T44 sprinters. Singleton won silver in in the 100m in Beijing and will be looking to better his performance at the 2011 Worlds and beyond.
Jeremy Campbell (Perryton, Texas) was a double gold medalist from Beijing, taking the coveted prize in both the pentathlon and discus. Now focusing his efforts on just the discus throw, watch for Campbell to top the podium once again in London.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
After finishing out of the medals at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, the U.S. Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team has come back to win gold at the Games in both 2004 and 2008.
The combination of a solid core of veterans and strong newcomers to the squad will keep Team USA as a favorite in London. Not to mention, the gold medal the Americans just won at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships.
The U.S. men suffered a heartbreaking loss in the bronze medal game in Beijing and the sting of coming home empty-handed has further spurred the team’s dream of sitting on the medal podium in London. Team USA took a step toward making that dream a reality when it won bronze at the world championships this past summer.
WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
At the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Team USA came home with something other than a gold medal for the first-time ever and that loss fueled the Americans for the next four years.
The U.S. dominated the field in Beijing in 2008 and returned to the top of the podium once again. But, wheelchair rugby is one of the fastest growing Paralympic sports in the world and the competition has placed a big target on the backs of Team USA.
The U.S. heads to the 2010 Wheelchair Rugby World Championships in Vancouver in September and how that tournament shakes out could be a good indicator of things to come in London.
WHEELCHAIR TENNIS
David Wagner (Hillsboro, Ore.) and Nick Taylor (Wichita, Kan.) have ruled the quad doubles scene since 2004, claiming back-to-back gold medals at the Athens and Beijing Paralympic Games. Wagner won an individual silver in 2004 and Taylor took bronze in 2008 and they’ll be in the mix to help Team USA finish 1-2 in the quad singles event in London.
In the Men’s Open division, 2008 Paralympian Jon Rydberg (Oakdale, Minn.) continues to look strong and is currently the top-ranked player in the country and veteran Steve Welch (Southlake, Texas), ranked just behind Rydberg, is gunning for his fifth U.S. Paralympic Team.
Newcomers Emmy Kaiser (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) and Mackenzie Soldan (Louisville, Ky.) are both aiming to make their first U.S. Paralympic Team and currently hold the top two ranking spots in the U.S. for the Women’s Open division.
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2012 Paralympic Games
