Suburban Chicago native and paralympic athlete hopes to bring home the gold from Paris
CHICAGO (CBS) — A Naperville native is breaking barriers.
Sarah Adam is the first woman named to the U.S. Wheelchair Rugby Team. She hopes to win gold at the Paralympics in Paris this summer.
"It's really, truly a relief when your name is finally called, and it's exciting to be a part of the opportunity to go to Paris."
That's Sarah Adam's reaction to finding her way to the US Paralympic wheelchair rugby team. She's the first woman ever named to the squad.
The Naperville native spoke by Zoom from her new home, St. Louis Adam said this achievement comes at a time when there are more eyes on women's sports, though this is not her first time making it onto a male-dominated team.
"You know, had me reflecting on when I was eight or nine years old, and I was playing with my brother's teams because there wasn't the competitive outlets there for the female sports in the same way that there were the boys. And so I just went and joined the boys' teams," Adam said.
She said this achievement comes at a time when there are more eyes on women's sports.
"And I think now we're seeing this amazing shift. There's all these competitive opportunities for females as well," Adam said.
A sport with hard hits, she first ran into wheelchair rugby through her profession, occupational therapy, when she was an able-bodied volunteer, not realizing the way her own path would turn.
"So I actually joined the wheelchair rugby community. I didn't even know I had MS. For me, turning to adaptive sports was a savior to reconnect with that "elite athlete" identity that I formed way back, you know, being in Naperville as an eight and nine-year-old kid playing park district softball," Adam said.
Now playing with the team ranked number one globally. She hopes to win gold in the Paris 2024 Paralympics Games. She calls Australia and Japan her biggest competitions.
"And when we're on, we're on. And we're truly unstoppable," Adam said.
However, there is a goal even beyond bringing home the goal...
"To showcase what people with disabilities can do and what we can contribute to our world," Adam said.
And changing perceptions.
The Paris Paralympic Games begin on August 28. Adam says her parents in Naperville are coming to Paris to see her compete.