Broncos bus crash survivor Jacob Wassermann headed to Paris after meteoric rise in Para rowing
CBC
Jacob Wassermann is only a few days from heading to Paris to represent his country at the highest level of Para sports, but it still doesn't feel real.
Whatever happens at his Para rowing event in the 2024 Paralympic Games, the 24-year-old is already feeling on top of the world.
"The fact that I've been able to get this far and be able to go out there is a pretty big accomplishment in my book already," he said after clambering out of his boat on an early morning rowing practice at Regina's Wascana Lake.
Six years ago, Wassermann was still recovering from the international headline-making 2018 Humboldt Broncos' bus crash, which left the hockey goaltender paralyzed from the waist down.
Even then, quitting sports was never in his mind.
"I still wanted to try and be in hockey and stay in that world as much as I could," he said, adding sports have always been central to his life. "Since I could walk really, I had a mini stick in my hand or [was] kicking around a soccer ball."
Nearly two years ago, he joined a session at the Saskatoon Rowing Club, thinking he'd give the sport a go as a way to keep his body healthy and strong.
It ended up being the hardest workout he'd ever done, pre or post-injury. Somehow, he thrived on it.
"You gotta be a little bit crazy, I think, to be a rower [and] to enjoy some of the pain that comes with it," he said. "But it's a bit of a thrill to be out there and on the water and doing things that I wasn't doing before I was injured. I wouldn't have been able to do something like this before."
Wassermann headed to Rio de Janeiro in March for an international event that saw him upend expectations by getting a silver medal and qualifying for the Paralympics PR1 men's single event.
"It was a bit of a shock," he said.
The qualification meant he and his coaching staff had to hop into overdrive to train for this year's Paralympics.
"We're preparing five years earlier than what we were ready for."
Athletes like Wassermann, with the right combination of athletic ability, a good build and a work ethic, can sometimes excel quickly in Para sports, said John Wetzstein, head coach and technical director with the Saskatchewan Rowing Association.
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