Bradley Warren Snyder (born February 29, 1984) is an American professional swimmer on the United States

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

team who competed at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

in London, the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

in Rio, and the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Snyder won two Gold medals and one Silver at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, three Gold and one Silver at Rio, and one gold medal at Tokyo. He lost his eyesight from an IED explosion while serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Among fully blind swimmers, he is the current world record holder for the 100-meter freestyle events.

Education and military service

Bradley Warren Snyder was born in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

to Michael and Valarie Snyder. He swam while attending Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, Florida. He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 2006 with a degree in

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and op ...

; while there, he was captain of the swim team. Snyder eventually became a lieutenant in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, and served in

as an explosive ordnance disposal officer. In September 2011, he lost both of his eyes after stepping on an IED in an attempt to help victims of another bombing. The explosion also gave him lacerations to his face and a shattered

eardrum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit changes in pres ...

. Snyder subsequently spent three weeks in

intensive care Intensive care medicine, usually called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes p ...

, and then recovered for another five weeks in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He explained, "When you're kind of patching your life back together and figuring out how to adjust to blindness, you're not good at anything. Walking was a challenge. Cooking's a challenge. Dressing and color matching is a challenge. There are all these things that used to be no problem that are all of a sudden really challenging. I had a hard time getting the right amount of

toothpaste Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice that is used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics of Human tooth, teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from th ...

on the

toothbrush A toothbrush is a special type of brush used to clean the Human tooth, teeth, gingiva, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle (grip), handle which facil ...

, because I can't see it." Snyder was the guest speaker at the 2013 Navy-Marine Corps Ball, held at the Washington Hilton,

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Swimming career

At the May 2012

Warrior Games The Warrior Games is a multi-sport event for wounded, injured or ill service personnel and veterans organized by the United States Department of Defense. History 2010–2014 The Warrior Games have taken place annually since 2010 except ...

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

, Snyder won four gold medals in swimming and three gold medals in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. In June 2012 at the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Trials in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck (; from 1872 to 1873: Edwinton) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat, seat of Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh County. It is the state's List of cities i ...

, Snyder won the 400-meter freestyle and beat his own record by 54 seconds. His record time of 4:35.62 made him the current world leader among blind swimmers for the 400-meter freestyle. The race also secured him a spot on the United States

team at the

in London. In addition, Snyder is the world record holder for the 100-meter freestyle among blind athletes, an event that he also swam in Bismarck. In August 2012 at the Paralympic Games in London, Snyder won Gold in the 100-meter freestyle (S11) after setting a Paralympic Record (57.18) in the preliminary heat. The following day, he won a Silver Medal in the Men's 50m Freestyle (S11) setting an American record for 25.27. Later that week, Snyder won Gold again in the Men's 400m Freestyle (S11) with a time of 4:32.41, exactly one year to the day after losing his eyesight. The United States Olympic Committee selected Brad to serve as the United States' flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. He competed at the 2016 Paralympic Games in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, winning all three gold medals in the end. At the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, Snyder won the gold medal in the paratriathlon PTVI."Team USA, Team Toyota's Brad Snyder Wins Eighth Paralympic Medal at Tokyo 2020"
''

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

''. August 30, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.

Other endeavours

In 2013, Brad became the official spokesman for a tactile timepiece with his namesake, the "Bradley." Created by the product design company Eone Timepieces, the Bradley is designed in collaboration with vision impaired users. As part of his

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

swimming career, Snyder signed on as an athlete for Team

, sponsored by the car company bearing the same name, that is Toyota."Team Toyota Athlete: Brad Snyder"
''

''. Retrieved September 26, 2021.

Fire In My Eyes

In 2016, he wrote a memoir with Tom Sileo entitled ''Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior's Journey from being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory''.Snyder, Brad, and Tom Sileo. ''Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior's Journey from Being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory''. Boston: Da Capo Press, 2016.

References

External links