Jacob Wassermann, who trains in Saskatoon, recently competed for Canada in a continental qualification regatta in Rio de Janeiro.
Jacob Wassermann’s early success in the sport of Para rowing was never something the 24-year-old could have imagined even just a year ago when he first started getting serious about the sport. Jacob Wassermann's meteoric rise in the sport of Para rowing has put him on a fast track to the Paralympics in Paris this summer, something the 24-year-old could never have imagined even just a year ago when he first started getting serious about the sport.
Rowing has come naturally to Wassermann, who is a gifted athlete in every sense. As he powers his way across the water he says he feels free. He's tried Para ice hockey, adaptive water skiing and just last fall found Para rowing after a chance meeting at a grocery store with "one of his buddies," also in a wheelchair, who told him about an opportunity to try rowing at the Saskatoon Rowing Club.
"Being an athlete is a huge part of my identity and I've been an athlete since I could walk basically, so the crash and being in a wheelchair now didn't change that for me," Wassermann said.In the wake of his silver medal, Wassermann's story of triumph has gone viral, capturing international headlines and praise across the globe. He's been flooded with messages of support and blanketed with congratulatory messages — something Wassermann says keeps him going.
Wassermann is one of 13 survivors from the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Wassermann, above, has maintained his positivity since the 2018 bus crash, saying 'we have no other choice but to just keep moving forward, keep living life, and just making the best out of it.' Wassermann, who's from Humboldt, says the support from his former teammates, family, friends and perfect strangers has made the challenges through all of this easier to navigate.
"What else is there to do, right? This horrible thing that happened a long time ago, but we have no other choice but to just keep moving forward, keep living life, and just making the best out of it," Wassermann said.Adam Herold's father, Russ Herold, speaks about his son's legacy.
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