ST. LOUIS — USA Wheelchair Rugby announced its roster of athletes to participate in the Paris 2024 U.S. Paralympics this summer, and one athlete made history.
Sarah Adam, from Naperville, Illinois, became the first woman named to a U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team. She works as an assistant professor and academic fieldwork coordinator at Saint Louis University, according to her faculty page.
Editor's note: The above video originally aired on March 27, 2024.
She began playing wheelchair rugby in 2019 and made her international debut at the 2022 Americas Championship where the team won gold. The team later won a silver medal at the world championships.
Adam was part of the 2023 gold medal-winning Parapan American Games team which secured USA Wheelchair Rugby a spot in the Paris 2024 U.S. Paralympics. She made history then as she became the first American woman to win Parapan American Games gold in wheelchair rugby, according to a press release.
Eric Newby, from Godfrey, and Chuck Melton, from Richview, also made the roster.
Newby made his international debut at the 2013 Americas Zone Championship. He has two Paralympic silver medals (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020) and several world championship and Parapan American Games medals. He will serve as a co-captain on the team.
Melton also has two Paralympic silver medals in the same games and several medals from the world championship and Parapan American Games.
USA Wheelchair Rugby is the most decorated wheelchair rugby program in history, according to the release. It is the only wheelchair rugby program to medal at every Paralympic Games since the sport was added in Sydney 2000.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will take place from Aug. 28 through Sept. 8.