Redefining Disability

At 10 months old, Rob Rodriguez had his right leg amputated below-the-knee. A gifted athlete, Rob has been a member of the para-elite triathlon team and the amputee soccer team for Team USA. He is a Para Spartan competitor, appeared on TV shows such as “American Ninja Warrior,” “Ink Masters,” “Fosse,” and others. In 2019, his life documentary titled “Able,” was nominated for an Emmy. Rob currently...

Roderick Sewell is a swimmer who represented Team USA on three national teams. In 2019, he became the first bilateral above-the-knee amputee to complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. The YMCA was critical to his early development and now Roderick is a mentor and swim coach. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Alabama and is the author of a new book entitl...

Maggie Baumer is an attorney licensed to practice in both New York and Massachusetts. She currently serves as Area Clinic Business Manager for Hanger Clinic. Maggie is a Certified Peer Visitor for the AMPOWER program, a peer-to-peer network designed to empower and strengthen those affected by amputation or limb difference through peer mentorship, educational resources, and community events and is...

Brendan Downes was born with spina bifida and started playing sports early in life. He now plays wheelchair softball for the Minnesota Twins and has been involved with adaptive sports through the Courage Kenny Center, a Move United member organization. Brendan is also a former president of the National Wheelchair Softball Association, has played with Team USA multiple times and is a Hall of Famer.

After surviving a traumatic boating accident that resulted in the amputation of his right leg, Parker Byrd became the first NCAA baseball player to attempt to play with a prosthetic. But his story doesn’t stop at physical recovery — he’s now a sought-after speaker and advocate for resilience, mental health, and purpose-driven living. Whether he’s stepping back onto the field as a Division I baseba...

Tatyana McFadden is the most winning American track and field athlete of all time, Olympian or Paralympian! Some of Tatyana’s remarkable accomplishments include 22 Paralympic medals (including eight gold medals), 24 World Major Marathon wins, 7 Paralympic Games, 5 World Records, and 4 Grand Slams. She was named the Best Female Athlete of the 2016 Paralympic Games by the International Olympic Commi...

Genevieve Rohner initially began riding horses for therapy at age four and fell in love with the sport the moment she sat on Sadie, the first horse she rode. The connection between horse and rider provides a sense of calmness and freedom for her and feeds her system in a way nothing else does. Genevieve discovered not only a love of horses, but a love of competing in para dressage. She got classif...

In June 2017, Garrett Schoonover was involved in a severe motorcycle accident. After four months and 13 limb-salvage surgeries, he decided to have his left leg amputated above the knee. At the time, he was a Sergeant with the California National Guard’s 225th Expeditionary Intelligence Unit. He would discover para fencing and represented Team USA at the 2024 Paralympic Games. Garrett is also a pro...

Sarah Adam first discovered wheelchair rugby as a volunteer while in school studying occupational therapy with the program at DASA, a Move United Member organization in Missouri. After being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she would get classified into the sport in 2019 and earned a spot on the national team in 2022. Sarah became the first-ever woman to win a Paralympic medal with Team USA last...

U.S. Air Force Colonel Jacqui Marty was in a motor vehicle accident in October 2015, while on temporary duty assignment in Abilene, TX. Through the encouragement of her recovery care coordinator, Jacqui tried adaptive sports in 2018 and she would make the Air Force Wounded Warrior team for the DoD Warrior Games in Colorado Springs later that year. Earlier this year, she represented the United Stat...

U.S. Navy Petty Officer Third Class Gabriella Zamora, or Gabby, was diagnosed with compartment syndrome and has a spinal stimulator to manage her injuries. After being introduced to adaptive sports, she regained her confidence and purpose, helping her overcome depression following her injury. Gabby earned six medals representing Team Navy at the Warrior Games at Disney World last year. Adaptive sp...

Kari Treat is an assistant swim coach at Reach Aquatics and has been involved with GLASA, a Move United member organization in the Chicago area. She received her Level 1 Para Swimming Coaching Certification and is passionate about celebrating incremental improvements and emphasizing the journey of learning and growth. As the mother of a child with a limb difference, she co-founded the Limb Differe...

Bryce Ewing played a lot of sports growing up. She then enlisted in the U.S. Army and had the opportunity to be assigned to work with Blackhawk helicopters. A year and a half into her enlistment, she was diagnosed with cancer at 23 years old. Bryce is now 10 years out and in full remission. She got back into sports through the Warrior Transition Unit and would compete at the Valor Games. But this...

Marc Mast started as a supervisor of Achieve Tahoe’s adaptive ski school in 1986 and earned his level 2 adaptive instructor certification in 1990. As one of the early pioneers in alpine adaptive winter skiing, he has decades of experience as a national and international clinician. He also was the founder of the adaptive program at Sun Valley, currently known as Higher Ground). Marc also decided to...

Kathy Chandler has been a pioneer in the adaptive sports space for decades, particular in para alpine skiing. She was one of the first individuals to become certified as an adaptive ski instructor and founded the program at Waterville Valley. But she also helped start a number of programs in New England and across the country. Through her involvement with The Hartford Ski Spectacular and elsewhere...

Army veteran JP Lane was injured during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, sustaining 26 injuries and losing both legs. In addition to being a singer, author, and speaker, the Purple Heart recipient is also an athlete, winning three gold medals at the DOD Warrior Games.

On April 15, 2013, Marc Fucarile was supporting a friend running the Boston Marathon when his life immediately changed. He was feet away from the second bomb when it went off, which took his right leg above the knee, nearly his left leg, and he was covered in burns and had shrapnel in his body. As part of his recovery and rehabilitation, Marc came out to Ski Spectacular with Move United and is sti...

In July 2009, Kevin Mather was on a training ride in the foothills of Los Angeles with a group of friends when he was hit by a truck. A few years later, he would win the wheelchair division of the Los Angeles Marathon and finished second at the 2012 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. He was encouraged to get into para archery through a friend at Craig Hospital in Colorado and decided to g...

Eden Schroeder was a swimmer growing up and played other sports as well. At the age of 18, she became paralyzed after diving into shallow water. Shortly thereafter, Eden would return to the pool and started to compete at the elite level. Her goal is to represent Team USA at the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles and she is also starting to work on her doctorate in psychology. Eden also uses soci...

Mikinzie Adams-Davis is an active 15-year-old adaptive athlete involved in a number of sports and recreational activities. But para cheer caught her attention, so she tried out for the team. Now she has been part of the U.S. Para Cheer Team for the past five or six years. As a right leg amputee, she says that having one leg never stopped her from doing anything.

Lee Trudell has been involved in cheerleading for over 30 years, starting back in high school. He had a job working cheer camps for 15 years and then starting judging and coaching. He now serves as the adaptive director and coach of the para cheer team for USA Cheer.

After a snowmobile accident in 1995 that resulted in a spinal cord injury, Geoff Krill began skiing again and soon became a professional ski instructor. Since his injury, he has competed both nationally and internationally in downhill mountain biking and skiing events. Geoff has participated in numerous wheelchair first ascents focused on breaking boundaries. He also serves as President of Eastern...

Keely Icardi had an accident shortly after graduating from high school. She started in adaptive archery and dabbled over time in different sports. But in 2017, she got introduced to a local CheerAbilities team and is a member of the U.S. Para Cheer Team.

Noah Bury had his ankle amputated when he was just 12 months old. He wasn’t introduced to adaptive sports until he was 18 years old, when he connected with Ogden Valley Adaptive Sports, a Move United member organization in Utah. He was invited out to The Hartford Ski Spectacular and is now training with another member organization, NSCD, to compete in para alpine skiing.

Mia Emory is a high school student who started her adaptive sports journey in 2019 playing wheelchair basketball. She also competes in track, swimming, and other sports through the Navigators Adaptive Sports Club, a Move United member organization based in New Jersey. Emory, who was born with spina bifida, has committed to playing wheelchair basketball at the University of Arizona next year.