Sam Grewe, reigning champion, 180. He’s in first place. I remember being 11 years old,
watching the Rio 2016 Paralympics for the first time. Watching my idol, Sam Grewe,
will himself to a Silver medal. This historic moment in US
high jump history. And I remember telling myself: I’m gonna be the greatest
Paralympian of all time. Looking back to that moment, the idea was a dream, that is far fetched, and
some might even say impossible. Reaching levels of success
do not come easy. The next step was hard work. Right now, I am five months post-graduation
from high school, and I’m taking a
gap year, training, preparing for Paris in 2024. I was born with one finger on my left hand. I had a lower left leg
that was curved in towards my waist, and at three years old,
I had a fifteen hour procedure, where the doctors removed
the curved part of my left leg and then transplanted the big toe
from the left foot and put it onto my left hand
so I could pick things up. I could hold things. And I was about four years old
when I got my very first running blade. It was in that moment that I felt
the freedom of running for the first time. I felt the freedom of movement
for the first time. and I guess never looked back since. It’s difficult to fail at anything
that you really care about in life. Ezra Frech, his third attempt at this height. Let’s go Ezra! It’s even more difficult to fail
in front of millions of people. - And he comes up empty. If I missed a height that I didn’t
think was possible for me to clear, It’d be one thing,
but I knew I could have cleared that bar. I’ve cleared it once or twice before. I was devastated. I felt as though I had let down
my entire family, my friends, everyone who believed in me. That was a brutal night,
as a dad. He was inconsolable.
He sacrificed being a kid He sacrificed being a kid to make sure he made the team
and he was ready for Tokyo. That moment is now a source
of motivation for me. It’s used as fuel to go back and win
Paris and reassess things and do everything right in the lead
up to this next Paralympics. You’re way over. Almost look like Sam Grewe there. I think we can go a little higher. I agree. I’m gonna go up to 85. What’s exciting for me about high jump is this incremental nature
of the improvement. It almost symbolizes life. Yeah, I mean - you just
gotta come out of that quicker. How often times you don’t jump from 0
to 100, but rather you climb step by step. Little wins after little wins, until the big win happens
at the world championships, or at the Paralympics. I hate when that happens. - In and out.
- In and out. My dad has done so much for me. He’s there on the track, testing blades.
He’s there for early training sessions. He’s there on trips with me.
- How’d that feel? That felt good. He knows. He knows I’m going
to be there for him no matter what. Go. Let’s see if he catches it. Good dive. Paris 2024 is all I think about. It’s what consumes my mind. I know that to get to Paris
in 2024, I’ve got to come back to where it all started. My Starting Lines. Nature... family, community, love, all the things that fueled me
to get to where I want to go. Crazy, huh? So beautiful. The conception of Angel City Sports came
because my family and I recognized why were adaptive athletes that
lived in the Southern California area having to travel all the way across
the country just to find a track meet? I was having to travel to Oklahoma. Tornado alley in tornado season.
It was absurd to think about. And that’s when the idea sparked. Fast forward a couple of years, we had our first games, and
then we started providing year-round clinics and competition. Day one, Angel City Sports
Courage Weekend. Let’s get it. Angel City Sports is a nonprofit for
kids and adults with disabilities, and we provide sport programming
year-round, at all ages and all ability levels, which is
something unique to Angel City. We are here for our Courage weekend. This is specifically for
our first responders, and our veteran community. - How are you?
- Good, man. I’m pumped for you guys in Chile. You guys are gonna be movie stars. All of you are here because we
know the power of sport, right? We know what it does for you physically,
what it does for your soul, the way it connects people,
it brings people together. You know, I think he’s able to
draw motivation from a lot of places. He loves being in the
adaptive sports community. Really loves teaching people. That’s become one of his
specialties, which is so cool because he knows exactly what
to tell an above knee amputee. - I buckled it in, yeah.
a video of him running - his leg flies off. There’s a video of him running,
his leg flies off. - It was pretty sketchy.
- Oh! Do a nice little “J” shape
towards the bar, you take off, jump, and land on your back
on the mat. Beautiful. Nice, you’re bringing
a lot of heat. All of us were able
bodied at one point serving our country,
and then we had some injury. And to be able to come back, try this new sport, it’s just really nice
to be a part of the community again. - You’re killing it.
We’re going to have to go up higher. Everybody’s clearing this. Like butter. Ezra is a world champion in high jumping he’s
my biggest cheerleader which is what you really need
from the coach sometimes. Teaching people how to high jump
for the first time. It fills me with pride to be able
to deliver that to some amazing people, giving them the same gift
that the sport gave me. I would trade in 100 gold medals, if it meant that I could change
lives in the process. Hey, you guys are the best,
man. That was so awesome. I’m grateful to have my family to
constantly be surrounding me with that love and support and reassurance
as I pursue something so daunting. Being around the people who love
and support me, helps me recharge. Helps me light that fire again. You know what? She’s my real starting line.
I love you, mom. Ezra Frech. Uncharted territory... new heights.
191, the new world record. Going for 195... This man is unstoppable! You put forth into the universe that you
were going to make Tokyo, and you did it. One day you’ll become a Paralympian.
One day you’ll break the world record. You’ll win your
first world title. it’s all going to fall into place. Trust the process.
