Paralympic Legend Seeks to Grow Awareness of Disabilities and Adaptive Sport

(ATR) Thirteen-time Paralympic medalist Chris Waddell has witnessed and contributed to enormous growth in the movement since skiing in the first of his seven Games in Albertville in 1992.

Waddell, 48, is one of numerous athlete ‘Champions for Peace’ attending this week’s Peace and Sport International Forum in Monaco. The U.S. ski racer participated in one of Thursday’s sessions entitled ‘Moving Towards Longstanding Legacies in Sport.’

In addition to his Paralympic achievements, Waddell also became the first paraplegic to climb Mount Kiliminjaro, nearly unassisted, in 2009.

"According to the WHO, there are 1.1 billion people with disabilities, but as a Paralympic athlete we weren’t on TV that much back then and we didn’t get the chance to change the narrative from ‘it’s too bad what happened to you’ to ‘what do you do,’" Waddell said.

"When I decided to climb Kiliminjaro, I felt a huge obligation to tell the story and that creates a legacy too," Waddell said of his rigorous six-and-a-half day ascent on a custom handbike to the summit of the 3,962-meter peak in Tanzania. "I think the most meaningful thing I’ve done is getting to the top of the mountain and producing the film. It was bigger than me."

Waddell tells Around the Rings in Monaco that the Paralympic movement and awareness towards adaptive sport has grown exponentially since he first competed at the Albertville 1992 Paralympics. On the slopes of Tignes, Waddell won his first two Paralympic medals in slalom and giant slalom.

"It most definitely is better off now than it was then," Waddell says of the Paralympic movement. "Not to say the competition wasn’t great, but it was like competing in a vacuum so in some ways to see where it has gone and the impact it could have.

"In China, the team was token, essentially, until they got the [Beijing 2008] Games and now they have the biggest team. And in the Summer Games they’ve won more medals than the second and third place teams combined," Waddell said. "I hope that has social implications within the country as well.

"To see Channel 4 [TV channel] in London step up and not only cover the Paralympics, but all the events leading up to it was great.And looking at the increased television coverage in the U.S. with NBC going from four hours in London to 72 hours in Rio, it’s getting out there, people are getting a chance to see it," Waddell said of the Paralympics expanding media exposure.

"It’s changing society, but it’s also changing the Games – one of the coolest things I’ve seen is all the sponsors now," Waddell said. "It’s a matter of continuing the momentum and consolidating those victories as we move along."

Waddell became paralyzed from the waist down in a ski accident as an up-and-coming racer at Vermont’s Middlebury College in 1988. After winning 12 Paralympic ski medals and one in athletics, he was inducted into both the Paralympics and U.S. Skiand Snowboard Hall of Fames in 2009 . Waddell also was bestowed the honor of lighting the cauldron at the Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympics.

Building upon his accomplishments, he founded the non-profit organization One Revolution in 2008 and his latest project is called ‘Nametags.’ "We want to turn the perception of disability upside down," Waddell says, noting One Revolution’s catchy slogan.

"We’re in the process of expanding One Revolution beyond my voice," said the Paralympic legend. "We’re getting other people to do our ‘Nametags’ program – which looks at the labels we put on ourselves and others, which are our limitations. It’s a resilience based program with the motto being ‘it’s not what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you.’"

Although his work involves frequent time away from his home in Park City and wife of three years Jean, Waddell says the rewards outweigh the sacrifices. The multi-talented skier – who keeps busy as a motivational speaker, author and sports commentator, among other endeavors – looks forward to furthering his mission to broaden interest and comprehension relating to people with disabilities.

"We as human beings are drawn to people who struggle and struggle hard to get where they want to go," Waddell said. "I’m hoping that on the television side and as a Paralympics commentator I can help a fair amount to continue that theme and achieve a level of honesty telling universal stories."

Reported in Monaco by Brian Pinelli

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