Why this double amputee US Marine refuses to give up on his Paralympics dream

Stinson pushes the limits in his athletic journey after surviving a bomb blast. Photos: Instagram/nubz0311

After sacrificing both his legs, a thumb and parts of several fingers and suffering extensive internal injuries in an improvised explosive device explosion, United States Marine Sgt Zach Stinson learned he wasn’t injured enough to qualify for the maximum time advantage as a para-triathlete.

Having fought all the way back from his catastrophic battlefield injuries sustained in 2010, the Afghanistan veteran was competing in elite-level paratriathlon events on an international stage.

For any athlete, the 750m swim, 20km of cycling and the 5km wheelchair “run” is grueling. But for Stinson, who had a double-amputation just below his waist, was left with a right hand that barely functioned and sustained additional trauma to his torso, the trials of the triathlon were a profile in pain and pushing his battered body beyond its limits.

Stinson’s journey epitomises the courage of a Marine amputee on the road to triumph.Stinson, despite all his injuries, didn’t qualify for a three-minute time advantage granted to the sport’s most-disabled athletes.

“Unless I was completely missing my hand, I don’t qualify,” Stinson said, explaining the complicated classifications for para-triathletes. “I’m missing fingers. I had to start from zero to get my grip and hand function to where it is now.”

Still, as much as Stinson “rehabbed” his hands, using them to power his wheelchair for 5km at a break-neck pace proved too much.

“With the wheelchair race, the gloves, the grip – all of it factored in,” said athlete who signed up with the US Marines in high school.

Stinson’s second competitive disadvantage surfaced during the swim. “I do have core strength, but it doesn’t power my legs. And I do have upper-body injuries.”

Stinson's courageous transformation is inspiring, proving that the human will can conquer any obstacle.

Stinson, who stopped counting all the surgeries he’s undergone after the number passed 35, took his case to the governing body of para competitions.

He asked, “Why are my injuries not allowing me to be in this other classification?”

At stake was that three-minute head start that Stinson said would have leveled the playing field and placed him on course to compete on Team USA as a para-triathlete in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.

Unfortunately, the ruling, which came down earlier this year, wasn’t what the 34-year-old competitor wanted to hear.

“It was very disappointing,” he said. “I stepped on a bomb. I don’t have legs. I’m missing fingers. All the other injuries I suffered. I’m being compared with people who weren’t blown up. Some were born that way. Some had accidents later in life.”

Sheer determination

Quitting wasn’t an option for the never-say-die Stinson.

After all, he’d already overcome the worst military life could dish out. He, his wife, Tesa, and their daughters Olivia, 12, and Rylee, eight, were the stronger for it.

With Paris a year away, Stinson’s long journey back from injury to the elite level of para-athletics had reached a crossroads. He decided to switch gears, going from the three-sport triathlon to the single event best matched to his injuries: the handcycle, powered by his impressive biceps and upper body.

Stinson’s family stands as the steadfast pillars supporting his triumphant journey.“I switched to cycling, which was always my strength anyway,” said Stinson, who can be seen training on his recumbent-style hand-pedal bike along the rolling hills of Franklin County near his home in Pennsylvania.

Looking forward is the only direction Stinson knows.

“There’s nothing I could do but move on. I spent too much money on this to not see any return,” he said.

From the beginning, his competitive endeavours have been a family affair, with Tesa taking charge of getting his equipment checked in at the airports each time they take off for another high-profile race.

Their journey has taken them all over the globe these past few years including Spain, Portugal and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. But Stinson has his sights set on Paris, the historic backdrop for this summer’s Olympic and World Paralympic games.

“That’s what we’re shooting for. That has been the goal since 2021. I just went from one sport to another,” he said.

The road hasn’t been without its bumps. Good thing Stinson thrives on overcoming challenges.During this year’s Boston Marathon, his hand cycle threw a chain, and he was forced to make roadside repairs as other riders sped by.

Tesa (right) has been Stinson's constant companion and source of strength, navigating the journey of courage, love, and resilience together.Stinson refused to surrender. Instead, he battled back, furiously pumping those hand-pedals and eventually surpassing the field.

“Not without a little bit of friction, a little bit of turbulence,” Stinson said of his come-from-behind Boston victory.

Later in the summer, Stinson cruised through time trials in Wisconsin and qualified for Team USA in the World Championships in Scotland, Connecticut. Stinson eyed the international event as a key stepping stone toward making Team USA for next summer’s Paris games.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go well. Stinson sensed something was amiss during his pre-race routine. His heart rate spiked far beyond what it should for a moderate warm-up.

“I remember thinking, that’s not normal,” he said.

During time trials, not only did Stinson’s heart fire like a freight train, sweat saturated his body. So much so, he was asked to take a Covid-19 test. The results were negative, but Stinson realised he had a full-blown fever.

Still, he qualified for the main race and believed his illness was in the rearview mirror.

“It was demoralising. That’s the first race where I wanted to quit. I ended up finishing – but not anywhere close to where I wanted to.”

The outcome wasn’t just a disappointment. The subpar time Stinson put up at worlds could negatively impact his chances of making Team USA for 2024 in Paris.

“I wasn’t able to show what I’m capable of. I don’t know how much of a factor that will be going into 2024,” he said.

Amid the letdown in Scotland, Stinson found something to pick him up. He took part in a Bible study group that helped put things in perspective.

His takeaway: “It’s easy to praise God when you’re on the mountain top. But you got to praise God in the valleys, too.”

Heroic man

Attached to the Second Battalion, Ninth Marines, the then-21-year-old Stinson was leading his squad in Marjah, Southern Helmand Province in Afghanistan, on Nov 9, 2010. The mission was an after-action damage assessment at a village that had been a source of enemy gunfire targeting his unit.

Rules of engagement dictated that Stinson’s squad check for any civilian casualties in the bombed-out village. To do so, they went out on foot and had to climb a wall encircling the village.Stinson stepped on an improvised explosive device strategically placed on the other side.

“I stepped down with my left leg. And it was like, boom! It felt like a pogo stick,” he said. “I was in the air, and I knew what I did immediately.”

'I’m getting really good at overcoming setbacks,' says Stinson.

Six days later, Stinson awoke in an intensive care unit at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, Tesa by his bedside. This marked the beginning of his next battle.

He didn’t lay eyes on his first daughter, Olivia, until after he was a double-amputee. She was conceived just before his tour began and born while he was recovering.

The couple had a second daughter, Rylee. He’s now a hero to both.

“I’m getting really good at overcoming setbacks,” Stinson said.

Given all he’s surmounted, Stinson’s athletic competitions often seem the least of his challenges.

In October, the Marine had a much more impressive showing at the 48th Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Virginia.

The event became a Stinson family affair, with Tesa tackling the 42km on foot.

“I’m just going to keep doing it. We’ll see where it goes.”

If Stinson’s track record of impressive comebacks is any indication, don’t count him out this summer in Paris. – pennlive.com/Tribune News Service