History was written on the first day of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris!
Team USA wheelchair rugby player Sarah Adam became the first American woman to score a goal in the sport at the Paralympic Games on Thursday, August 29th. She is also the first woman to play on the US wheelchair rugby team.
Adam, 32, scored during the USA’s first game of the Games against Canada at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris. The United States defeated Canada 51-48 on Thursday.
As the first woman to play for the team, Adam said she was thrilled to lead the way for women in wheelchair rugby. “This is a really exciting time for women in sports,” Adam said in a statement via USA Wheelchair Rugby.
She continued: “It’s great to see us getting the recognition we’ve always deserved. I’m so glad that the fans will have the opportunity to fall in love with our stories and our sports and to do all this together with this amazing team is truly an honor. I have worked hard to become an elite athlete and I am proud to be a part of this team.”
See the best photos from the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris
Speaking to USA Today, Adam noted, “We know people are going to fall in love with our stories and our sports and to be able to do that alongside these incredible teammates, this is a truly special team and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Team USA’s Sarah Adam in action during the United States vs. Canada Group A wheelchair rugby match on day one of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Marco Mantovani/Getty
The outlet also spoke with Team USA wheelchair rugby co-captain Chuck Aoki, who shared high praise for the history-making athlete. “She fit in perfectly,” Aoki told USA Today.
»There is no other way to put it. She just accepted her role as a team player. I was so, so impressed with what Sarah was able to do,” added the co-captain — who met his wife at a wheelchair rugby tournament.
According to Adam’s Team USA bio, the Naperville, Illinois native earned a spot on the 2022 national team and won a silver medal with the team at the 2022 World Championships.
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When she is not writing Paralympic history, Adam is a professor of occupational therapy at the University of St. Louis in Missouri.
After Team USA’s Group 1 win over Canada on Thursday, Aoki told USA Today that his team was “happy to win.”
“Of course Canada brought it as we knew. But yeah, I’m happy with the win.”
Adam said the team still has “some work to do” as the Games continue, but she is “proud” of her team for “regrouping” and “sticking to the game plan” in their first win.
To learn more about all the Olympic winners and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com and check out the live coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Paris Paralympics, which begin on August 28, on NBC and Peacock.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education