International Day of Persons With Disabilities: Recognizing Team USA's Dedicated Paralympians

It’s not just about inclusion. It’s also about recognition, equality, and acceptance.

According to the United Nations General Assembly, approximately 1.6 billion people live with a substantial disability worldwide. That represents roughly 16% of the world’s population, or 1 in 6 people globally. They state, “Health inequities arise from unfair conditions faced by persons with disabilities, including stigma, discrimination, poverty, exclusion from education and employment, and barriers faced in the health system itself.”
That is why, in 1992, the U.N formed the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in an attempt to recognize those who live with disabilities. The important day aims to highlight the unseen strengths of the disabled community and educate people on the misconceptions that form around those who are disabled. 

This year, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee is honored to join the U.N.’s mission in showcasing the strengths found within the disabled community. This past August, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games received the most coverage of a Paralympic sporting event in history. Every sport was shown live on Peacock, and those who missed incredible performances could also watch recordings of events. Team USA also gave several high-profile disabled influencers the ability to create content with our Paralympic athletes, allowing fans to be educated while the athletes’ off-field personalities shined.

The increase in broadcast resources at the Paris 2024 Games created the perfect springboard to engage and inform fans about the athletes and persons who dedicate their lives to the Paralympic movement. Not only do Team USA’s incredible athletes perform extraordinary feats on the field of play; but, a significant number of them dedicate their lives to making the disabled community more inclusive, affordable, and noticed.

Below are several examples of athletes who should be recognized appropriately for their contributions:

• Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) as a grad student, Adam became the first-ever woman to compete in wheelchair rugby for Team USA at a Paralympic Games during Paris 2024. The speedy Adam was a potent part of the offense, as Team USA battled throughout the tournament to earn the silver medal after narrowly losing to Japan in the gold-medal match. In the finals, the Napierville, Illinois, native scored 14 tries, which tied veteran Chuck Aoki for the team high.

• As Team USA documented her performances, fans praised her on social media, writing “Go Dr. Adam!" Off the field, she is a highly respected professor of occupational therapy at Saint Louis University in Missouri. She holds a doctorate in occupational therapy from Washington University - St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience from Augustana College. Her special research interests are in enhancing independence and participation of individuals with disability through community-based exercise and adaptive sports. She discovered the sport working as a volunteer during occupational therapy school. Fans can keep up with Adam via her Instagram, where she frequently posts content that showcases her sport.

• One of the subjects of the Netflix documentary, Rising Phoenix, Stutzman quickly became one of the best stories of Paris 2024. The 41-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, native became the first armless archer to win a Paralympic Gold medal in history during Paris 2024. His achievements do not stop there, as he proudly proves to the world that he can do anything an able-bodied person can do. When he’s not competing, Stutzman has stated that he races an unmodified truck that can reach speeds of up to 200 mph. He can dunk a basketball, and works to help coach and encourage other armless archers to compete at the highest level, including Sheetal Devi, the 17-year-old archery phenom who represents Team India. Fans hoping to keep up with Stutzman can check out his Instagram account.

• Horses changed Roxanne Trunnell’s life, and the Washington native is making sure that one of the world’s most respected animals does the same for others. After her incredible performances at Paris 2024, which included a silver medal in the individual Grade I test event and a gold in the team event, she became the most decorated U.S. Para Equestrian athlete in history. She now owns five medals, including three golds, over three Paralympic appearances. Off the course, Trunnell has earned a Master’s in psychology with a focus in Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy, researching the effects of humans and horses working in tandem to improve the mental wellbeing of people. Fans can continue to follow Trunnell on Instagram.

• “She has the drive, and I believed that she had the ability,” her mother, Josette said about her wanting to compete in the Paralympics. “She never complains about anything. ‘What good does it do?’ (Roxie) says. ‘It doesn’t change a thing. The only thing that makes it better is what you choose to do.’”

• In interviews, Liana Mutia often describes herself as “not an athlete.” However, her world-class achievements in the sport of Judo, a sport primarily reserved for the visually impaired at the Paralympic level, would say otherwise. At Paris 2024, Mutia became the first U.S. woman to medal in the Para Judo -57 kg. J1 class, securing a silver medal after completely dismantling her opponents in the preliminary and early knockout rounds. The humble, soft-spoken 26-year-old who calls Philadelphia her hometown prepares for her matches in a unique way. Although smaller than most judoka in her division, Mutia outworks them on paper, dedicating endless time to crunching the stats attributed to each of her opponents. She stores everything she knows about her opponents in a spreadsheet, and calls her tactic, “test-driven development.”
• The way she prepares for matches replicates the skills she applies while working in her incredibly unique profession. Off the tatami, Mutia works as an accessibility consultant that focuses on making websites more accessible to others who are visually impaired. She frequently develops and tests the accessibility software that websites implement to make their pages viewable to all.

• Born with cerebral palsy, U.S. Para Track & Field athlete can now call herself a four-time Paralympic medalist after picking up two medals at Paris 2024. The Kent, Washington, native who studied health and physical education at Eastern Washington University took silver in the women’s long jump T37 event and a bronze in the 100m T37 final a few days later.
• Roberts proudly represents herself as a Black, female athlete with a disability. Off the track, she is a major spokesperson for mental health. Recently, she partnered with Well Beings, an organization who creates multimedia campaigns that help promote mental health awareness, to develop a short movie about her personal struggles with mental health. The documentary is part of a series entitled, “Out of the Dark,” and can be viewed for free on YouTube. Additionally, she is an outspoken member of the LGBTQ+ community. Fans can follow Jaleen on Instagram, where she frequently posts and educates people about her life as a Paralympian.

• A veteran of the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball National Team, Nieves was a Top-20 scorer over the entire women’s sitting volleyball tournament at Paris 2024. Her performance helped elevate Team USA to its third consecutive gold medal at a Paralympic Games dating back to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. A native of The Bronx, who moved to Kissimmee, Florida, at age 10, Nieves scored in multiple ways for the U.S. during their back-to-back-to-back title defense. She tallied 17 points on attacks, seven points via blocks and an ace. Additionally, she was given the prestigious honor of being the flag bearer during the opening ceremonies alongside veteran wheelchair basketball player, Steve Serio.
• Off the court, Nieves continues to dedicate her life advocating for people with disabilities. She is the founder of Limitless People Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps people learn the sport of volleyball, both sitting and standing, “without limits to age, gender, race, or physical ability.” Nieves also holds a degree in sociology from Valencia College, and recently graduated with a Master's degree in clinical mental health from Southern New Hampshire University. Fans can follow Nieves' journey on her Instagram.

• Body’s journey to represent Team USA at Paris 2024 in Powerlifting was inspiring and more. A surprising gold at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games, the first-ever for the U.S., made the Army veteran realize that anything was possible if he just believed in himself. Now, after getting his first Paralympic Games experience under his belt (at age 50) and finishing just off the podium in fourth place, he wants even more.
• Off the bench, SPC Body is a peer support specialist, and spends his time counseling other military veterans who have PTSD. He mainly conducts group PTSD and amputee counseling, focusing on the message of “overcoming the odds.” Body also frequently posts his powerful lifts on his Instagram.

This list represents a small sample of some of the achievements a select few of Team USA’s Paralympians have achieved. Below are a few extra examples:

• Ezra Frech (Para Track & Field): Co-founder of Angel City Sports, an organization that promotes adaptive sports for all ages, and hosts several youth adaptive sports events.
• Dana Mathewson (Wheelchair Tennis): Holds a Doctorate in Clinical Audiology, following in the footsteps of her parents, who also hold doctorate degrees.
• Zach Miller (Para Snowboard): Adaptive e-sports program manager at Adaptive Action Sports

• Brenna Huckaby (Para Snowboard), Ryan Neiswender (Wheelchair Basketball), Chuck Aoki (Wheelchair Rugby) and Dani Aravich (Para Nordic Skiing): Co-founded Culxtured, an organization dedicated to highlighting the top moments in Paralympic sports.

Brendan Rourke is a Digital Media Assistant with the USOPC. Previously, he spent three seasons writing for the NBA's Indiana Pacers, and is a graduate of both UCF and IU-Indy's Sports Capital Journalism Program.