NVWG athletes compete in cycling at Lake Harriet
Decked out in a helmet with a flashing light, Army veteran Natasha Faison-Williams raced around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis Saturday — and got a little wet — during the National Veterans Wheelchair Games’ (NVWG) cycling competition.
A novice athlete, Faison-Williams only started cycling with nonprofit sports organization Catalyst Sports, based out of Atlanta, three months ago. Every week, she trained with them on various terrains to prepare for her race.
“I wanted to represent us female veterans out there. Be the diamond in the rough,” Faison-Williams says.
The 42-year-old Bremen, Ga., resident and Paralyzed Veterans of America Southeastern Chapter member, who sustained a level T4 incomplete spinal cord injury, says she is very competitive.
Even after completing her first 10-kilometer race with two laps around the lake, Faison-Williams was still smiling.
“It was something new,” she says. “I’ve never handcycled before, and I wanted to utilize the parts I still have function in. If I can push, I can pedal.”
She says one hill was a little intense, but she found a way to stay cool — by riding through large puddles left by the previous night’s rain.
“After-rain cycling, do it again. I was like, embrace the suck,” she says, as she made splashing noises.
Faison-Williams wanted to come to the Games this year to gain experience, with the goal of competing in the Paralympics or Invictus Games in one of her many sports, which include rowing, swimming, tandem surfing, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair football.
“Have fun, don’t be too hard on yourself, and make new friends, and live life to the fullest,” she says.
Kids Get A Snow Day
Kids with disabilities and dozens of veteran athlete mentors found themselves in a winter wonderland in the middle of the Minneapolis Convention Center during Saturday’s National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG) in Minnesota.
This year’s Frozen theme for the annual Kids Day featured a slalom (obstacle course), cornhole and inflatable Snow Throw game, where the eight participants could throw Velcro snowballs or plush ice axes at a target, as bubbles filled the air to simulate snow. The event ended with a “snowball” fight between veterans and the kids using stuffed balls, and the kids received participation medals.
For 9-year-old Clara Carlin of Grand Rapids, Mich., it was an opportunity to make friends. Clara has spina bifida, came to the event with her mom, Nicole, and says she had fun meeting the veterans and getting some coaching tips from them.
“I like making new friends, and I like to talk,” says Clara, who also enjoys playing wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair softball and dancing.
She says the snowball fight and cornhole were her favorite activities.
“I would make it in every time,” she says.
Paralyzed Veterans of America Wisconsin Chapter member and Army veteran Ervin Mulkey took charge of showing the kids how to do the obstacle course.
The 55-year-old Friendship, Wis., resident served from 1987 to 1991 and sustained a level L3-L4 incomplete spinal cord injury after falling off a tank during Operation Desert Shield in 1990. This was his 11th NVWG overall and second year volunteering to be a Kids Day mentor.
“Just seeing this kids’ smiles is electrifying,” Maulkey says. “I mean, they motivate me. I guess one thing, I’ve only spent about half my life in a wheelchair. These kids still have the joy and the smile in them, some of them knowing they’re going to live their entire life in a wheelchair. To me, it’s amazing.”
He says he gets satisfaction out of knowing there is a group of young kids coming up who have joy and spirit in them, and Kids Day made his week.
“I don’t know if they see us as veterans. I think they maybe see us as equals,” Mulkey says. “And they can see that, ‘Hey, he’s older. He can do it when he gets older, so as I grow older, I can still do things.’ And I think that’s one of the biggest things is stay moving.”
