For many, like myself, wheelchair racing isn’t just a competition—it’s a gateway to a transformed life post-injury
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG) have concluded in New Orleans, and aside from the sultry weather, “street gravy” and a few regretful hangovers, it seems like it was a great event.
While co-presenters Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) delivered on their promise for a good time to be had by all, there was one thing that bugged me — there were no track events this year and they haven’t been off-
ered since 2019.
I was deeply disappointed when I learned PVA and VA leadership had agreed to forego the track events again at this year’s NVWG. I was introduced to adaptive sports 30 years ago via wheelchair racing. That steered me on a new trajectory in life, and some of my fondest memories of the NVWG are of the times I spent on the track with some of the greatest legends in the sport’s storied past.
The NVWG launched in 1981 with just seven events and 77 athletes. It quickly became the premier annual event where veterans with spinal-cord injury and disease (SCI/D) could be introduced to a plethora of adaptive sports. Furthermore, for many ambitious veterans with a SCI/D like me, the NVWG served as the starting line for a career in international competition, including the Paralympics.
However, in recent years, I’ve noticed newly injured veterans gravitating toward handcycling, as racing chairs, once piled high in every recreational therapist’s inventory, approach extinction. Is this a sign of the times, or have I stumbled upon some kind of conspiratorial plot to prevent veterans from competing on the track at the NVWG?!
I reached out to PVA Director of Sports & Recreation Fabio Villarroel to get a better understanding of the situation. Fabio says PVA and the VA are consistently evaluating sports offerings for the NVWG as a way to meet the needs and wants of the participants. He went on to say that the track events were discontinued due to a significant decline in interest.
I have to admit, traveling with all the equipment required to compete on the track can be cumbersome, and when a veteran considers the always-evolving menu of sports offered at the NVWG, it makes more sense to leave the racing chair safe at home and simply enjoy a game of billiards or boccia instead.
Is the fate of wheelchair racing at the NVWG the canary in the coal mine? If our newest generation of veterans thinks racing on the track is passé and if the sport has become obsolete at the Games, will we see veterans on the track at higher levels of competition such as the Paralympics? I fear the answer is no.
It wasn’t long after the NVWG ended in New Orleans that the 2024 Paralympic Games began in Paris. I spotted only 10 athletes in wheelchairs representing Team USA in the track events, and a quick search on the internet confirmed my suspicions. Not only has there been a significant decline since I was on Team USA in 1996, but there also were no veterans competing on the track in Paris. This is both perplexing and disappointing considering the history of the Paralympics.
In 1948, Ludwig Guttmann, MD, organized the first competition for wheelchair athletes, all of whom were veterans, and named it the Stoke Mandeville Games. In 1960, this event became the first Paralympic Games, where all 400 athletes representing 23 countries competed in their wheelchairs.
Seeking an explanation, I called Bob Molinatti, who has competed at the NVWG numerous times and is a two-time Paralympian. Currently, Bob is the host of Detours, which produces videos covering the world of adaptive sports for SPORTS ’N SPOKES and our YouTube channel.
Bob and the Detours crew were at the 2024 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials this past July in Miramar, Fla., and had the opportunity to interview several of the wheelchair athletes before they headed to Paris.
Bob tells me there are a number of contributing factors as to why we see so few athletes competing on the track.
“Generally speaking, most people wanting to get into this sport will discover that racing chairs have become cost-prohibitive, access to a track for the purpose of training is a big challenge and knowledgeable mentors and coaches are tough to come by,” he says. “And, let’s face it — it’s a brutal sport.”
Our conversation then shifted to the representation of athletes in wheelchairs at the Paralympics.
“In the beginning, all of the athletes were using wheelchairs to compete, but six decades later, we have 10 disability categories, including various physical, visual and intellectual impairments, so our piece of the pie has gotten smaller,” Bob says.
Honestly, the insights provided by Fabio and Bob make sense. From the start, be it a veteran going to the NVWG or a kid attending his or her first local adaptive sports camp, aspiring athletes will discover seemingly boundless challenges.
Unfortunately, programs that have the capabilities to develop competitive wheelchair racers for the track are few and far between. Thankfully, the University of Illinois, University of Arizona and others have established student-athlete curriculums that include racing on the track. But if going to college isn’t an option, buying a secondhand racing chair and begging the local high school to allow you on the track will have to suffice.
There’s no denying the starting lines have become quite sparse, but with athletes receiving $37,500 for each Paralympic gold medal, $22,500 for a silver and $15,000 for a bronze, I have to admit the competition has never been so elite.
With that much money being doled out for every race, we’re almost guaranteed to witness great drama and hopefully some record-setting times on the Paralympic track. I’m sure NBC can sell it to their sponsors, and the Paralympic organizers will be happy, too.
As always, let me know your thoughts at al@pvamag.com.