After her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, the former occupational therapist took on a new role: Paralympics competitor.
Competing in her first wheelchair rugby competition, she was an unknown, she was inexperienced, and she was a woman playing a male-dominated sport."No one knew that I maybe know a little bit about rugby," said Adam, a 32-year-old from Naperville, Illinois."Until about three plays in."
NBC Sports’ Senior Olympics Editor Nick Zaccardi breaks down what paralympian Nick Mayhugh brings to Team USA.Then Adam began experiencing issues with her hand that she assumed was due to a nerve injury. Just days before she was set to complete her graduate school program, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
“So, anytime I was walking, it was really slow,” she said. “I was getting really fatigued and tripping and falling a lot and hurting myself.”“It's kind of an ableist attitude of society of that, if you can walk, you should walk,” she said. “And a little bit uncomfortable around my teammates who couldn't walk at the time, they had to use their wheelchairs.” Adam began playing wheelchair rugby competitively in 2019. During a tournament in St. Louis, she went out to dinner with her team.
“My wheelchair is my freedom to do the things I want and need to do throughout my day in an easier and a safer way to conserve my energy,” she said. “It's not a barrier. If anything, it just makes my life so much better.” Adam was invited to try out for the wheelchair rugby U.S. national team in 2021 and earned a spot on the roster. She made her international debut at the Americas Championship in 2022, winning gold, and later that year won silver at the World Championships in Denmark.
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