Redefining Disability

In June 2021, US Marine Corps Captain Andrew Hairston entered his first event as a handcyclist while still rehabbing at Walter Reed Hospital from an accident that resulted in the amputation of his leg. Later that year, he entered his first marathon. Now he is training hard to qualify for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. In addition, he is the founder of Salvage Life, a Move United member organization based in North Carolina.

Army Staff Sergeant Michael Kacer was injured as a result of a mortar attack in Afghanistan on June 18, 2008. In 2017, he started competing in Taekwondo, to help improve his mental health and confidence. He won a silver medal at the 2017 Pan Am Invitational and recently represented the United States at the Parapan American Games in Chile.

Will Castillo was born in Colombia, South America and immigrated to the United States when he was five years old, living in Queens, New York. After 9/11, Will joined the US Army and served for ten years, including two deployments. The vehicle he was riding in was struck by an IED killing the driver and gunner. Will lost a leg, developed a traumatic brain injury and experienced Post Traumatic Stress. After depression and drugs, Will was introduced to the sport of para bobsled. As part of Team USA, he has won three national championships, two third place finishes at the World Cups in Germany and Lake Placid and 2022-2023 overall World Champion.

Sarah Bofinger began swimming before she could walk. At age six, she joined the Frederick Area Swim Team in Frederick, Maryland. She was born with hip dysplasia and had her first surgery at 4 months old. She's since had a total of seven hip surgeries. Sarah recently represented Team USA at the Parapan American Games in Chile.

On October 28, 1989, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2 Rhonda Liddell was struck by a drunk driver, resulting in a permanent loss of range of motion and neuropathy in her right arm as well as damage to her shoulder and traumatic brain injury. She intends to compete in the sport of Para Skeleton at the Invictus Games in 2025 and also hopes to qualify for and attend a USGA Adaptive Open in the one-armed classification.

Max Togisala is a rising professional golfer who most recently placed 17th overall in the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst. Originally on track to play collegiate golf, his life took a dramatic turn in February 2022, when a skiing accident in Sun Valley, Idaho severed his spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the waist down. Adaptive golfing equipment, such as the VertaCat, enabled Max to play golf again, competing nine months after the incident.

David Horvath, who was born with spina bifida, discovered the sport of powerlifting through a gym class in high school and realized that it was the sport for him. He would then learn about DASA, a Move United member organization based in the St. Louis area, which helped him improve his skills. In 2021, he joined the U.S. national team and has competed in some Move United sanctioned competitions. Most recently, he represented Team USA at the Parapan American Games in Chile and has a goal of competing in the Paralympics.

While in Bahrain in 2001, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Charlene Williams experienced the onset of a detached retina, hearing loss, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury. She has tried a number of adaptive sports, but golf is the one that excites her the most. In addition to maintaining an active lifestyle, she is also working to complete her Ph.D.

While serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, Chris Young was paralyzed in a plane crash in Alaska. He began adaptive skiing in 1986 and was named to the U.S. Disabled Ski Team in 1989. At the 1994 Winter Paralympics, Young won a gold medal in slalom. He would win another gold medal at the 2002 Winter Paralympic Games in Super G. Among his many other titles and wins, he won the X Games in 2015 in monoski. He has also gone on to coach a number of other Paralympians and adaptive athletes and in December 2023 was inducted into the Adaptive Sports Hall of Fame.

Saylor O’Brien was born with spina bifida. She started skiing with Wasatch Adaptive Sports, a Move United member organization when she was just four years old. She loved going fast, so when she was around 10, she decided to ski race. Saylor found the National Ability Center, another Move United member organization in Utah, to hone her skills. She qualified for the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, but was unable to go. So now, she has her sight set on the 2026 Paralympics.