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| Paralympics, at Peace as Wars Wind Down | Paralympics, at Peace as Wars Wind Down |
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| KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — A dozen years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, years of grenades and land mines and roadside bombs, left thousands of American soldiers and their allies without limbs. Many of them regained a sense of self after being introduced to adaptive sports, enjoying life outside the constraints of wheelchairs or prosthetic legs. | KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — A dozen years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, years of grenades and land mines and roadside bombs, left thousands of American soldiers and their allies without limbs. Many of them regained a sense of self after being introduced to adaptive sports, enjoying life outside the constraints of wheelchairs or prosthetic legs. |
| Their rehabilitation efforts led to a strong presence of disabled service members at the Winter Paralympic Games, where this year, they accounted for nearly a quarter of the 80-member United States team, with other former soldiers competing among the delegations of Britain, Canada and Russia. | Their rehabilitation efforts led to a strong presence of disabled service members at the Winter Paralympic Games, where this year, they accounted for nearly a quarter of the 80-member United States team, with other former soldiers competing among the delegations of Britain, Canada and Russia. |
| As the Games are set to conclude on Monday, the reality of the Paralympics’ rise over the past decade could be seen in the biographies of so many of its athletes: former soldiers gravely wounded on far-flung battlefields. With those wars, which transformed disabled sports, all but over, the Paralympic movement is considering its peacetime role. | As the Games are set to conclude on Monday, the reality of the Paralympics’ rise over the past decade could be seen in the biographies of so many of its athletes: former soldiers gravely wounded on far-flung battlefields. With those wars, which transformed disabled sports, all but over, the Paralympic movement is considering its peacetime role. |
| “Obviously, we don’t want more young men and women being hurt; that’s a given,” said Charlie Huebner, the United States Olympic Committee’s chief of Paralympics. “But every day, something traumatic happens, unfortunately, and we just want to make sure there’s programming available for when it does happen.” | “Obviously, we don’t want more young men and women being hurt; that’s a given,” said Charlie Huebner, the United States Olympic Committee’s chief of Paralympics. “But every day, something traumatic happens, unfortunately, and we just want to make sure there’s programming available for when it does happen.” |
| Many Paralympic officials expressed confidence that the movement would thrive as awareness and exposure continued to rise. They said this period brought on by modern warfare, by broken bodies and lost limbs, had produced not only athletes flooding its camps and clinics but a sustainable infrastructure for outreach and development. | Many Paralympic officials expressed confidence that the movement would thrive as awareness and exposure continued to rise. They said this period brought on by modern warfare, by broken bodies and lost limbs, had produced not only athletes flooding its camps and clinics but a sustainable infrastructure for outreach and development. |
| That United States military athletes competed in all six disciplines at these Paralympics is not just a coincidence. Over the past five years, the U.S.O.C. has redoubled its efforts to survey the military population for potential Paralympians. Buoyed by a surge in Nordic skiing, the United States team’s ranks of current and former soldiers swelled to 18 from five at Vancouver in 2010. | That United States military athletes competed in all six disciplines at these Paralympics is not just a coincidence. Over the past five years, the U.S.O.C. has redoubled its efforts to survey the military population for potential Paralympians. Buoyed by a surge in Nordic skiing, the United States team’s ranks of current and former soldiers swelled to 18 from five at Vancouver in 2010. |
| Paralympics officials say that the competition will retain a noticeable military presence long after the current wars end in part because men and women of the military are not injured only in wars. Three athletes, including the sledge hockey goalie Jen Lee, were injured in motorcycle accidents after returning from Iraq. Still others sustained their injuries in training exercises or plane crashes stateside, or while serving in other countries. | Paralympics officials say that the competition will retain a noticeable military presence long after the current wars end in part because men and women of the military are not injured only in wars. Three athletes, including the sledge hockey goalie Jen Lee, were injured in motorcycle accidents after returning from Iraq. Still others sustained their injuries in training exercises or plane crashes stateside, or while serving in other countries. |
| “It’s crossed my mind,” John Farra, the United States Paralympics director of Nordic skiing, said about the correlation between war and disabled athletes. “But I think I would worry if our strategy was only targeting military athletes, and I feel really strongly that it’s not.” | |
| Huebner said the U.S.O.C. was not adjusting so much as continuing to build on its existing approach, which makes expansion and opportunities at the community level a priority. The committee’s efforts have been bolstered by a partnership with the Department of Defense and legislation passed in 2008 (and enacted in 2010) that authorized the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer monthly stipends to support veterans competing for a spot in the Paralympics, and to award grants, up to $8 million annually, to support an adaptive sports program. | Huebner said the U.S.O.C. was not adjusting so much as continuing to build on its existing approach, which makes expansion and opportunities at the community level a priority. The committee’s efforts have been bolstered by a partnership with the Department of Defense and legislation passed in 2008 (and enacted in 2010) that authorized the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer monthly stipends to support veterans competing for a spot in the Paralympics, and to award grants, up to $8 million annually, to support an adaptive sports program. |
| Sean Halsted, a cross-country skier and biathlete, was one of those service members injured far from combat. He was left paralyzed from the waist at age 27 after a 40-foot fall from a helicopter during an Air Force search-and-rescue drill, and said he did not feel like doing much initially. | Sean Halsted, a cross-country skier and biathlete, was one of those service members injured far from combat. He was left paralyzed from the waist at age 27 after a 40-foot fall from a helicopter during an Air Force search-and-rescue drill, and said he did not feel like doing much initially. |
| “My concept was, O.K., legs don’t work, so I’m not going outside anymore,” Halsted said. “I’m going to be on the Internet, I’m going to be watching DVDs, because what else can you do? You don’t think you can do anything else.” | “My concept was, O.K., legs don’t work, so I’m not going outside anymore,” Halsted said. “I’m going to be on the Internet, I’m going to be watching DVDs, because what else can you do? You don’t think you can do anything else.” |
| He was introduced to Paralympic sports at a V.A. winter sports clinic several years after his injury, and by 2007, he was a national-level contender on the Nordic skiing team. Few teams have been as successful at recruiting new athletes as that one; Farra, the team’s director, counts eight military members among his 16 athletes. Using financing provided by Olympic officials and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Farra and his staff members fan out to medical rehabilitation facilities, and events like the Wheelchair Games and the Warrior Games, with a ski ergometer, which approximates the ski-pole motion, and some electric rifles. | He was introduced to Paralympic sports at a V.A. winter sports clinic several years after his injury, and by 2007, he was a national-level contender on the Nordic skiing team. Few teams have been as successful at recruiting new athletes as that one; Farra, the team’s director, counts eight military members among his 16 athletes. Using financing provided by Olympic officials and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Farra and his staff members fan out to medical rehabilitation facilities, and events like the Wheelchair Games and the Warrior Games, with a ski ergometer, which approximates the ski-pole motion, and some electric rifles. |
| “If they hit one or two out of five shots, because their heart’s banging in their chest and they’re breathing hard and they can’t focus on the target, they go, ‘Oh, man, let me try that again,’ ” Farra said. “And we basically set the hook at that point. That’s when it happens.” | “If they hit one or two out of five shots, because their heart’s banging in their chest and they’re breathing hard and they can’t focus on the target, they go, ‘Oh, man, let me try that again,’ ” Farra said. “And we basically set the hook at that point. That’s when it happens.” |
| But this year’s Paralympics, which had the highest attendance of any Games to date, were inextricably tied to combat. | But this year’s Paralympics, which had the highest attendance of any Games to date, were inextricably tied to combat. |
| Heath Calhoun, a former Army staff sergeant who lost his legs after a rocket-propelled grenade hit his Humvee in Iraq in 2003, won a silver medal in Friday’s Alpine super combined event. Tyler Burdick, who defied doctors’ advice to amputate his legs after a roadside bomb struck his armored vehicle in southern Afghanistan, finished eighth Friday when snowboarding made its Paralympic debut. | Heath Calhoun, a former Army staff sergeant who lost his legs after a rocket-propelled grenade hit his Humvee in Iraq in 2003, won a silver medal in Friday’s Alpine super combined event. Tyler Burdick, who defied doctors’ advice to amputate his legs after a roadside bomb struck his armored vehicle in southern Afghanistan, finished eighth Friday when snowboarding made its Paralympic debut. |
| Josh Sweeney, an able-bodied hockey player growing up in Arizona, transitioned to sledge hockey after losing his legs when a roadside bomb detonated in Nawzad, Afghanistan. On Saturday, alongside three teammates who served in the armed forces, Sweeney scored as the United States beat Russia, 1-0, for the gold medal. On Wednesday, Dan Cnossen, a platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan who lost his legs after stepping on an explosive device, reached the six-man finals of the 1-kilometer sit-ski sprint, an event traditionally dominated by Russia and Ukraine. Another veteran, Andy Soule, also reached the finals in that event. | Josh Sweeney, an able-bodied hockey player growing up in Arizona, transitioned to sledge hockey after losing his legs when a roadside bomb detonated in Nawzad, Afghanistan. On Saturday, alongside three teammates who served in the armed forces, Sweeney scored as the United States beat Russia, 1-0, for the gold medal. On Wednesday, Dan Cnossen, a platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan who lost his legs after stepping on an explosive device, reached the six-man finals of the 1-kilometer sit-ski sprint, an event traditionally dominated by Russia and Ukraine. Another veteran, Andy Soule, also reached the finals in that event. |
| “For me, if there wasn’t a Paralympic movement that existed, I just don’t know what I’d be doing right know,” said Cnossen, who is one of two United States athletes here still on active duty. | “For me, if there wasn’t a Paralympic movement that existed, I just don’t know what I’d be doing right know,” said Cnossen, who is one of two United States athletes here still on active duty. |
| To find the next generation of athletes, the U.S.O.C. focuses on parks and recreation agencies and Paralympic sports clubs, of which there are nearly 200 throughout the country, to reach the segment of the disabled population that is unaware of the possibilities; that lacks services in its area; or that is reluctant to get involved because the transition from soldier to athlete is not always immediate. | To find the next generation of athletes, the U.S.O.C. focuses on parks and recreation agencies and Paralympic sports clubs, of which there are nearly 200 throughout the country, to reach the segment of the disabled population that is unaware of the possibilities; that lacks services in its area; or that is reluctant to get involved because the transition from soldier to athlete is not always immediate. |
| Farra said that sit-skiers, if they were physically fit or had athletic backgrounds, adapted more quickly than standing skiers or those who were visually impaired because they rode on a relatively stable platform. If the sit-skier is motivated, Farra said, he is confident he and his staff can transform him into a top-10 finisher in the World Cup within two years. | Farra said that sit-skiers, if they were physically fit or had athletic backgrounds, adapted more quickly than standing skiers or those who were visually impaired because they rode on a relatively stable platform. If the sit-skier is motivated, Farra said, he is confident he and his staff can transform him into a top-10 finisher in the World Cup within two years. |
| That is what happened with Cnossen, whose attributes — he was mentally strong and physically fit and had a raging competitive streak — are the reason the U.S.O.C. regards the military as such a vital component to its growth. Before his injury, Cnossen had no background in skiing. But in 2010, less than a year after his accident, he revealed a natural proclivity for biathlon at a Paralympic military sports camp in San Diego. Soon he learned to ski. By 2012, he was racing in World Cup events. | That is what happened with Cnossen, whose attributes — he was mentally strong and physically fit and had a raging competitive streak — are the reason the U.S.O.C. regards the military as such a vital component to its growth. Before his injury, Cnossen had no background in skiing. But in 2010, less than a year after his accident, he revealed a natural proclivity for biathlon at a Paralympic military sports camp in San Diego. Soon he learned to ski. By 2012, he was racing in World Cup events. |
| The movement in the United States, which the U.S.O.C.’s Huebner described as in its infancy, has spawned interest from other delegations. Canada and Britain, for example, are seeking to better integrate their own military veterans; each sent a military Paralympian to Sochi. But members of Battle Back, a British program that uses sports to rehabilitate injured service personnel, have attended camps and competitions in the United States. During a visit to the Warrior Games last year in Colorado, England’s Prince Harry was so struck by the experience that he introduced a similar event, the Invictus Games, in Britain that will be open to competitors from around the world. | The movement in the United States, which the U.S.O.C.’s Huebner described as in its infancy, has spawned interest from other delegations. Canada and Britain, for example, are seeking to better integrate their own military veterans; each sent a military Paralympian to Sochi. But members of Battle Back, a British program that uses sports to rehabilitate injured service personnel, have attended camps and competitions in the United States. During a visit to the Warrior Games last year in Colorado, England’s Prince Harry was so struck by the experience that he introduced a similar event, the Invictus Games, in Britain that will be open to competitors from around the world. |
| A few years ago, the United States hosted a British delegation at a Paralympic military camp. There, with the help of American coaches, a former British Air Force technician who had lost his arm in Iraq learned to cycle. That man, Jon-Allan Butterworth, won two silver medals at the Summer Paralympics in London in 2012. | A few years ago, the United States hosted a British delegation at a Paralympic military camp. There, with the help of American coaches, a former British Air Force technician who had lost his arm in Iraq learned to cycle. That man, Jon-Allan Butterworth, won two silver medals at the Summer Paralympics in London in 2012. |
| “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, maybe this went a little bit too far,’ ” Huebner said, with a laugh. “But it’s a great story for the world.” | “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, maybe this went a little bit too far,’ ” Huebner said, with a laugh. “But it’s a great story for the world.” |