Fuel Jadon's Paralympic Dream

As you may know, Jadon has a goal of competing in the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles. He started shooting competitively 5 years ago, when he was 11 years old and is currently on the USA Shooting Futures Team. He has a good chance at the upcoming Paralympics at the age of 19!

He competes in the Para side due to a birth injury that left his right arm paralyzed. Multiple surgeries later have left him with a small amount of functional use of the arm, but not enough to shoot with the “able bodied” competitors. A side note, I dislike that term as Jadon’s injury has never really slowed him down. I would not consider him “unable”, but I digress.

Shooting on the Para side means he is allowed a spring stand to support the rifle, but this in no way makes the task easier! What this young man is able to do is nothing short of amazing. Imagine the difficulty of placing a pellet down the middle of a drinking straw at just under 33 feet away. Now imagine the focus, determination and skill it must take to do that 60 times in a row!

To achieve his Paralympic goal, he is required to shoot in 5 national matches a year to remain on the national ranking list. For each match, this requires out of state travel and lodging, about a week per match. These travel expenses have been manageable here in the US, but one of Jadon's early reasons for sticking with the sport was to see the world and this year has provided that opportunity!

After shooting a couple of great matches in Alabama this year, he was invited to shoot with the US Paralympic team at a Grand Prix match in Arequipa, Peru in July. This was an awesome experience for a 16 year old! He shot well under pressure, winning a gold medal with a borrowed rifle after Peru told him he was too young to bring his own. He medaled in 2 out of the 3 matches he shot in Peru and that third match was a 4th place finish!

That grace under pressure and winning attitude, along with increasing skill has recently earned him another opportunity to shoot with the US team. A little further from home this time, a world cup match in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates!

As they say, this kid is going places! While Jadon’s travel will be funded by USA Shooting, any donation you make to the cost of sending a parent with him would be greatly appreciated! Any excess in the donation account will be put towards his next trip, with three years until the big match, there will be no shortage of travel expenses!

Matt & Kiana Nafziger