Personal
Since his first Paralympic Games in 2004 at the age of 16, Garcia-Tolson has become an ambassador for Paralympic sport...Born with multiple birth defects, including Pterygium Syndrome, a club foot, webbed fingers and a cleft lip and palate...Garcia-Tolson endured 15 surgeries by the age of five before telling his parents he'd rather have a double leg amputation...By age 8, he had already become active in
swimming, running and
triathlons...At that age, he stated that he wanted to compete at the Paralympic Games and eight years later, he made good on his promise when he swam to gold at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games...Since then, Garcia-Tolson has added more Paralympic medals to his collection and accomplished more in his career, including becoming the world's first double above-knee amputee to complete an Ironman Triathlon in 2009...He has been featured on numerous media publications and television shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and was named as one of People Magazine's “20 Teens Who Will Change the World”...Garcia-Tolson has won several awards, including the ESPN's ARETE Courage in Sports Award, Nike's Casey Martin Award and was nominated for an ESPY...He continues to make an impact in his community through his work with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and as a motivational speaker, sharing his message that “A brave heart is a powerful weapon"...Son of Ricardo Garcia and Sandra Garcia-Tolson...Has one brother and three sisters...Likes hip-hop and
skateboarding...Favorite para sport is
wheelchair rugby...Favorite sports team is the Los Angeles Rams...Favorite place he has traveled to is Iceland...Favorite movie is Rudy
Paralympic Experience
- 5-time Paralympian; 5-time Paralympic medalist (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
- Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, 6th (100m Breaststroke SB6 - Men), 7th (200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men), 8th (4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 34 Points - Men), 9th (50m Butterfly S7 - Men)
- Paralympic Games Rio de Janeiro 2016, silver (200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men), 6th (100m Breaststroke SB7 - Men, 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 34 Points - Men), 12th (100m Butterfly S8 - Men)
- Paralympic Games London 2012, silver (200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men), 6th (4 x 100m Medley Relay 34 Points - Men), 9th (200m T42 - Men), 10th (100m T42 - Men, 400m Freestyle S8 - Men), 12th (100m Backstroke S8 - Men), 17th (100m Butterfly S8 - Men)
- Paralympic Games Beijing 2008, gold (200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men), bronze (100m Breaststroke SB7 - Men), 7th (4 x 100m Medley Relay 34 Points - Men), 9th (400m Freestyle S8 - Men), 12th (100m Butterfly S8 - Men), 13th (100m Backstroke S8 - Men)
- Paralympic Games Athens 2004, gold (200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men), 5th (100m Breaststroke SB7 - Men), 7th (4 x 100m Medley Relay 34 Points - Men), 9th (100m Butterfly S8 - Men)
World Championship Experience
- Most recent: 2022 – gold (4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points - Mixed), 5th (200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men, 400m Freestyle S7 - Men), 6th (100m Backstroke S7 - Men, 100m Breaststroke SB6 - Men), 7th (50m Butterfly S7 - Men)
- Years of participation: 100m Backstroke S7 - Men 2022; 100m Breaststroke SB6 - Men 2022; 200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men 2002, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2022; 4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points - Mixed 2022; 400m Freestyle S7 - Men 2022; 50m Butterfly S7 - Men 2022; 100m Breaststroke SB7 - Men 2006, 2010, 2015; 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 34 Points - Men 2010, 2015; 4 x 100m Medley Relay 34 Points - Men 2010, 2015; Long Jump T42 - Men 2013; 100m Backstroke S8 - Men 2010; 5km Open Water S1-S10 - Men 2010; 200m Individual Medley SM7 SC - Men 2009; 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 20 Points SC - Men 2009; 100m Butterfly S8 - Men 2006; 100m Freestyle S8 - Men 2006; 400m Freestyle S8 - Men 2006; 5km Open Water - Men 2006; 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 20 Points - Men 2002
- Medals: 7 (3 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)
- Gold – 2022 (4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points - Mixed); 2010 (200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men); 2006 (200m Individual Medley SM7 - Men)
- Silver – 2013 (Long Jump T42 - Men)
- Bronze – 2010 (100m Breaststroke SB7 - Men); 2009 (200m Individual Medley SM7 SC - Men, 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 20 Points SC - Men)
More
Personal Website
