Team U.S. Gliding to a bronze victory

Courtesy Photo | Team U.S. proudly displays the American Flag after winning the wheelchair rugby match against Team Australia at Mattamy Athletic center in Toronto on September 2017. (Photo Courtesy Annette P. Gomes)  

TORONTO, ON, CANADA

09.29.2017

Courtesy Story

Army Recovery Care Program

By Annette P. Gomes, Warrior Care and Transition


TORONTO--Weighing approximately 35 pounds of steel and aluminum and used by wheelchair rugby participants who clanked and collided across the floor of a crowded Ryerson's Mattamy Athletic Center in Toronto in the bronze medal finals between Team US and Team Australia, team members and fans say their real focus isn't scoring on the court but scoring in life.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Anthony McDaniel was four months into his deployment when he lost both of his legs and his left hand when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Kajaki, Afghanistan on August 31, 2010.

He is making his second appearance at the games and scored 15 points in the Game. "It's just an amazing experience that simply can't be put into words and that's what adaptive sports and these games are about, not the disability, but the ability to get up and live your life,” McDaniel said.

Known as quad rugby in the United States, the team sport was developed for athletes with disabilities, mostly spinal cord injuries and multiple amputations. It is played in more than 25 countries around the world and the summer Paralympics. Consisting of two teams of six, athletes play two 15-minute quarters and scores by crossing a goal line at the end of the court.

Invictus Volunteer Kerri Tadeu cheered on participants from the sidelines. Her brother Collin served as a Specialist with the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry.

"I'm aware of what these games and adaptive reconditioning sports mean. My brother dealt with war. He thought his life was over and had a deep desire to rest six feet under but as a family we taught him to lean into his painful experiences and apply it to purpose and now he stands six feet tall, Tadeu said.

Retired U.S. Army Major James Pradke sums up his wheelchair rugby debut at the Invictus Games. "This experience is exhilarating, I can't describe and I’m without words. This goes beyond sports. I've been training for six months, it’s a mental game. Commit your heart and your mind and know anything is possible,” Pradke said.

Team U.S. won the bronze medal by a score 23 to 18 over team Australia.

• Date Taken: 09.29.2017
• Date Posted: 09.29.2017 18:18
• Story ID: 250152
• Location: TORONTO, ON, CA