Rudy Garcia-Tolson (born September 14, 1988) is a Paralympic swimmer, runner and triathlete from the USA. He was born with

popliteal pterygium syndrome Popliteal pterygium syndrome (PPS) is a rare inherited genetic disorder characterized by distinctive craniofacial, musculoskeletal and genitorourinary symptoms. It is primarily caused by a mutation to the ''IRF6'' gene and follows an autosomal dom ...

, resulting in a

club foot Clubfoot is a congenital or acquired defect where one or both feet are supinated, rotated inward and plantar flexion, downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. ...

, webbed fingers on both hands, a

cleft lip and palate A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The ...

and the inability to straighten his legs. As a 5 year old wheelchair user, after 15 operations, he decided he would rather be a double

amputee Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is ...

and walk with prosthetics. He had both legs removed above the knee.

Swimming

Garcia-Tolson started swimming at age 6. Within a year, the seven-year old was competing against children without disabilities and breaking records. When he was eight years old, he stated that he would swim in the

2004 Paralympic Games The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September 2 ...

. He was true to his word and won the gold medal in the 200 meter

individual medley Medley swimming is a combination of four different swimming strokes ( freestyle (usually front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as ...

and broke the world record for his SM7 class. In the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, when he was 20, he again won the gold medal in the 200 meter individual medley event, breaking his own SM7 world record twice in the process. He also won the bronze medal in 100m breaststroke SB7. At the

2012 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, he broke the SM7 world record in the 200 meter individual medley heat. In the final, both he and Yevheniy Bohodayko swam faster still. Bohodayko touched the wall first; Garcia-Tolson won silver. He is targeting the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo. On April 14, 2022, he was named to the roster to represent the United States at the

2022 World Para Swimming Championships The 2022 World Para Swimming Championships was the 11th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Madeira from 12 to 18 June. The competition was origin ...

Other sports

Athletics

Garcia-Tolson started running at age 7. By the age of 13, he held T42 American Records in all distances from 400 metres to the half marathon. At the

2011 Parapan American Games The 4th Parapan American Games took place from November 12 to 20 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Games are an international multi-sport event for athletes with a physical disability. The Games were held 20 days after the 2011 Pan American Games bega ...

, he won a silver medal in the T42 100 metre event. 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 ...

, he competed on the track as well as in the pool. He ran personal best times in his T42 100 metre and 200 metre events, but did not qualify for finals.

Triathlon

Garcia-Tolson competed in first his triathlon at age 8, as the swimmer in a winning relay team. He raced with celebrities including

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

as part of Team Braveheart. At age 10, he completed the first of many individual triathlons. In 2006, he completed the Ford Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida. He attempted the 2009

Ironman World Championship The Ironman World Championship is a triathlon held annually in Hawaii, United States from 1978 to 2022, with no race in 2020 and an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culminat ...

in Kona but missed the bike cut by 8 minutes. Six weeks later, at Ironman Arizona, he became the first double above-knee amputee to complete a full

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consid ...

Paratriathlon Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon (TRI; formerly known as the International Triathlon Union or ITU), and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 S ...

has been included in the program for the

2016 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 ...

. Although he has previously described triathlon as "cross training for swimming", Garcia-Tolson has indicated some interest in competing. Other Sports Garcia-Tolson's other activities include karate, skateboarding, as well as kayaking and mountain biking.

Recognition and awards

In 2003, Garcia-Tolson was named one of Teen People Magazine's "20 Teens Who Will Change the World". He was the subject of The Final Sprint's December 2006 "Success Story"; a monthly column that aims to highlight remarkable and factual accounts of runners who have overcome major obstacles and/or changed their lives via running. He has won several awards, including the Arete Courage in Sports Award and the Casey Martin Award from

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. Following his success at Ironman Arizona, he was nominated for an

ESPY Award The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-r ...

in 2010.

Personal life

Garcia-Tolson has been a spokesperson for the

Challenged Athletes Foundation The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), established in 1997, assists, supports, and provides opportunity to people with physical challenges, so that they can lead active lifestyles and compete in athletic events. It is founded in the belief th ...

since 1999. He is a student at Southwestern College, likes hip hop music and skateboarding, and has one brother and three sisters.

References

External links

Swimmer Rudy Garcia-Tolson
– 24 short video clips about Rudy by BP Team USA * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia-Tolson, Rudy 1988 births Living people American male medley swimmers Paralympic swimmers for the United States Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for the United States World record holders in paralympic swimming American amputees American disabled sportspeople Sportspeople from Riverside, California Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paratriathletes American male triathletes Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Sportspeople with club feet Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Paralympic medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics S7-classified para swimmers 21st-century American sportsmen