Road to the Paralympics

Who I Am

What I hear: “I’m sorry for your situation” …. “Can I pray for your heeling?”.

My response: “Why? … I’m not sorry for my situation, why should you be?... And why would I pray that my creator change His original design?”

How do you define success?

Are you motivated by trying to be better than other people?

Do you feel like you can control that outcome?

What if you changed to focus on being the best YOU can be?

We are all unique and have been given specific gifts. Travis Gaertner was born without his lower limbs. What if he defined success as being able to keep up with the neighborhood kids when he was young?

Instead he has adapted to what a fully active lifestyle looked like for him. At an early age he wanted to test everything he could to determine what were HIS specific limits.

That mindset resulted in 2 Paralympic gold medals. And now at the age of 43, the pursuit of his limits in a new sport – handcycling

He was named alternate for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, medaled at multiple UCI Paracycling World Cups, and won a bronze medal at the 2019 & 2023 World Paracycling Championships.

And yet, he believes in a balanced lifestyle, finding time to train at the highest level while pursuing his client’s needs during the day with a full time corporate career, and being present in the evenings with his family of five.

Finding your true limits and achieving success, in whatever the circumstances, is possible with the right mindset!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ~ Philippians 4:13

YOU are the benchmark – life is all about what you do with what you’re given!

Travis has run into many people who say things like “I’m sorry for your situation” or “Can I pray for your heeling?”. His response is “Why? … I’m not sorry for my situation, why should you be?... And why would I pray that my creator change His original design?” Being in a wheelchair hasn’t slowed Travis down, in many ways, it’s enhanced his life. He works everyday to do the best with what life deals him.

Imagine towing cars with your wheelchair to gain explosive speed and completing 3-mile workouts through unplowed snow to acquire balance in your wheelchair. Those were just some of the things Travis did to test and define his limits.

That allowed him to serve as captain of the University of Illinois wheelchair basketball team, joining the National Wheelchair Basketball Team right out of high school, and becoming a two-time gold medalist in wheelchair basketball in the Sydney 2000 Paralympics and the Athens 2004 Paralympics.

Bill Walton’s Take on Travis’ Story!

Travis has been able to meet a wide variety of inspiring people who have encouraged him along his journey. One of which Travis grew up watching compete – NBA hall of famer Bill Walton. Here’s his take on Travis’ story:

Support

Thank you to the over 200 donors who have helped put a good dent on the funding required to compete at this level. And to Travis’ training sponsors, thank you for your amazing partnerships.

To support Travis’s Journey CLICK HERE!