It all started with Jim MacLaren…
In 1985, Jim MacLaren was a defensive end at Yale and a promising actor. He went to New York CIty to pursue acting, and that’s where his life would be changed forever. As his bio notes, he was leaving rehearsal one night on his motorcycle when he was hit by a city bus. Even though he was thought to be dead, he survived, but lost his left leg below the knee. MacLaren rehabbed and became a triathlete, setting records seemingly wherever he competed. Then, in 1993, his life took another turn for the worse. While on a bicycle during a triathlon, a van was mistakenly allowed into the bike path and collided with MacLaren, throwing him from the bike. This time, he broke his neck and was paralyzed, told he would be a paraplegic forever. That’s when friends stepped in to raise funds for him, and they also put together the San Diego Triathlon Challenge, which has since become an annual event. And MacLaren, by the way, through hard work and determination, has been able to regain some motor function in his limbs.
… then became about helping athletes with physical challenges …
Four years later, the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) was established. Its mission is “to provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics.” By 2001, the CAF would reach the milestone of distributing in excess of $1 million in grants to help those athletes with physical disabilities. The foundation gives more than 80 percent of money raised toward things like training and competition expenses, and adaptive sports equipment. As the website notes, only 10 percent of Americans living with a disability participate in fitness activities daily, highlighting the importance of the work CAF does.
… a goal that continues to this day.
After a humble start in Southern California, today the CAF also has a chapter in Florida and a regional office in the Northeast. Along with the San Diego Triathlon Challenge, which will have its 18th annual event in October, there are five other events, including the Million Dollar Challenge, a seven-day, 620-mile bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego. There are also various programs, including Operation Rebound, dedicated to military veterans and first responders who have been permanently injured in the line of duty. There will even be the Deni & Jeff Jacobs Challenged Athletes Center, which is nearing completion in San Diego. You can learn more about all that the CAF does here.
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Screengrab by ChallengedAthletes via YouTube.