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The USQRA’s 2009-10 Post-Season is Sponsored in Part by
Astra Tech - Coloplast - Eagle Sportschairs – Force Factor
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-Eleven athletes have been nominated to the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team. The team was announced following a weekend tryout camp held at Lakeshore Foundation, an official U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site. This team will represent the United States at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China next September.
Six athletes return from the 2004 U.S. Paralympic Team that won a bronze medal in Athens, Greece. Those athletes are Andy Cohn (Tempe, Ariz.), Will Groulx (Portland, Ore.), Scott Hogsett (Phoenix, Ariz.), Bryan Kirkland (Leeds, Ala.), Norm Lyduch (Austin, Tex.) and Mark Zupan (Austin, Tex.). The remaining five athletes are first-time U.S. Paralympians. At age 18, Joel Wilmoth (Hueytown, Ala.) is the youngest athlete ever named to the U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team. Joining him are Seth McBride (Juneau, Alaska), Jason Regier (Denver, Colo.), Nick Springer (St. Petersburg, Fla./New York, NY) and Chance Sumner (Denver, Colo.).
“All these athletes have sacrificed so much to be here and this was a very emotional selection,” said U.S. head coach James Gumbert (Austin, Texas). “We feel we’ve selected the team that is going to win the gold medal in Beijing and we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us to make that happen.”
The U.S. is currently the top-ranked wheelchair rugby team in the world. Throughout the next year, the team will hold monthly training camps at Lakeshore Foundation in preparation for the competition in Beijing.
2008 U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team*Denotes 2004 U.S. Paralympic Team member
Alternates:All media inquires and requests can be sent to Susan Katz, Communications Coordinator at (205) 313-7434 or susank@lakeshore.org.