Joel Rosinbum
Elite ParaTriathlete
Age: 30
Friday March 2nd 2010 at about 1:30 in the afternoon my life was changed for ever. For some people events that alter their life’s trajectory play out over time, for me it was instantaneous. I was skiing a great run in some of the best conditions I’d ever seen, soft deep light snow, an anomaly on Mt Hood. In one terrifying moment one ski struck and caught something buried in the snow. That ski came off and I was pitched into a tree at full speed.
The impact with the tree broke 8 ribs, fractured my scapula (shoulder blade) in 3 places, punctured my right lung and ripped apart the nerve plexus that controlled my right arm. I spent a week in the Level One Trauma unit at Legacy Emanuel Hospital before they would let me go home.
The next 9 months were full of doctor visits, tests, therapy and some more surgery to try to repair the nerve damage. Going from a very active life style to being able to do almost nothing was very, very hard. Just about one year after the accident I found someone to make me a special sling which would allow me to run. I tried cycling as well but was not quite ready for that with my compromised balance. After one particularly bad experience I promised my mom to give up biking until after I finished a marathon. Several months later I ran my first 10k, a few months after that the first ½ Marathon. 1 year, 7 months and 3 days after the accident I finished the Portland Marathon.
Now free from my promise and with better balance I was ready to get back on my bike. I started of converting my triathlon bike to a road style bars which are much more stable. Eventually I was able to switch that bike back and started to race local bike races and triathlons. I found the US ParaTriathlon National Championship online and wanted to race with people who swim with one arm like me. To my surprise and delight I had an amazing race on a course that is suited towards my strengths and I won!
I was hooked. Standing on the top on the podium with my Dad watching was awesome. I resolved to go to the ParaTriathlon World Championship 2 months later. Through the generous support of friends and family I was able to make the trip. Worlds did not go as well as US Nationals but I learned a lot about competing internationally. 2010 was another good season with a second place at US Nationals and a seventh place at the World Championship.
The 2011 Season is off to a bang! I am racing World Cup Races as well as US National and World Championships this year. In June I won the ITU ParaTriathlon World Cup in Madrid! The rest of my season is exciting with a Hamburg World Cup, US Nationals in NYC and World Championships in Beijing.
My athletic dream is to race in the Paralympics in Rio 2016 and in London 2012 where ParaTriathlon will be a demonstration sport.
