By EMS1 Staff
SEBRING, Ohio — A paramedic who lost his leg in a motorcycle crash will now be able to qualify for the 2022 Paralympics after returning home from a bobsledding competition with a win.
WYTV reported that Sebring Fire Department paramedic Barry Schroeder recently returned from the 2018 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation Para Sport World Championship in Norway with a seventh place rank.
Schroeder’s bobsledding career began after his leg was amputated when his motorcycle crashed in 2012.
“I was basically left without a leg below the knee. It was amputated there on scene,” he said.
Schroeder returned to work seven months after the crash and began competing in paraplegic bobsledding three years later.
“Everybody thought I was nuts. People still think I’m nuts, I mean, I am a little bit nuts. It was one of those things when was I going to have the opportunity to get in a bobsled,” he said. “I mean, how many people you know had the opportunity to get in a bobsled?”
After a couple of losses, Schroeder turned things around and won two Para Bobsleigh World Cup medals. After his most recent win, he can now try and qualify for the 2022 Paralympics.
“Even though I haven’t made it that far yet and nothing is guaranteed, I’m fortunate to have that opportunity in front of me to have a chance for that to happen, I mean, that’s pretty fortunate there in itself,” he said.
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