Athletes Overcome Disabilities to Compete in Extreme Outdoor Challenge
Author: World T.E.A.M. Sports
Published: 2010/06/24 - Updated: 2010/07/09
Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Related Publications
Synopsis: In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado Adventure TEAM Challenge incorporates rafting hiking climbing and biking.
Introduction
The number and capabilities of those participating in this challenge proves that exceptional athletes do matter and that people of all abilities can do the impossible.Main Content
For three rugged days beginning Friday, June 25, nine teams of five athletes, three able-bodied and two disabled athletes, many of whom are wounded veterans, will compete in the fourth annual "Adventure TEAM Challenge," hosted by World T.E.A.M. Sports in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The Adventure TEAM Challenge incorporates rafting, hiking, climbing and biking under adverse conditions.
Conceived by Erik Weihenmayer, the first visually impaired individual to climb Mt. Everest, the event kicks off Friday morning, June 25, with the teams rafting the unpredictable waters of the Arkansas River, surrounded by towering 14,000-foot peaks of the Sawatch Mountain Range. The following two days will take the athletes deep in the remote Rocky Mountain range south of Leadville, Colo., where they will hike and climb dramatic peaks and bike through beautiful alpine meadows before completing the race on Sunday, June 27, 2010.
"The Adventure TEAM Challenge is another of our events that brings together disabled and able-bodied athletes to promote teamwork, build camaraderie and inspire hope," said Jeff Messner, President of World T.E.A.M. Sports. "The number and capabilities of those participating in this challenge proves that exceptional athletes do matter and that people of all abilities can do the impossible."
While some participants for the Adventure Team may be well known, such as Eric Weihenmayer, he is competing with and against some other amazing individuals, such as:
Sarah Will, a skier who was paralyzed from the waist down in 1988, was a four-time Paralympian who has won 12 Paralympic gold medals and one silver medal throughout her career;
Matt Nyman, a veteran who lost his leg in a helicopter crash in Iraq, did off road triathlons, mountain biking, snow skiing before his injury. Matt has returned to mountain climbing to meet his athletic goals and has attempted to climb Mt. Denali.
Clarissa Olivares-Pozgaj, a 15 year-old girl who is wheelchair-bound with Arthrogryposis a rare congenital disorder that causes multiple joint contractures and is characterized by muscle weakness and fibrosis will be pulled by her father in a custom carriage.
About World T.E.A.M. Sports - Since 1993, World T.E.A.M. Sports has been using the power of adaptive sports to provide opportunities to individuals living with a disability by having people of all abilities join together to overcome soul-stirring athletic challenges. In an effort to change the way the world views athletes of all abilities. World T.E.A.M. Sports hosts a variety of challenging athletic events to promote inclusion and T.E.A.M. work, thereby educating people and communities about true human ability while enabling individuals to realize their own. A registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, World T.E.A.M. Sports is more than an organization, it is a movement to change the way the world perceives all athletes.