According to recent reports, Jacob Wasserman, a hockey player who survived a deadly bus crash in 2018, qualified for rowing in the 2024 Paralympics set to take place in Paris. The fatal crash that occurred six years ago in Canada claimed the lives of 16 of Wasserman’s teammates and other hockey club members.
The Canadian Paralympic team announced Wasserman’s qualification on social media this past week after the 24-year-old athlete won a silver medal in the Continental Qualifications Regatta in Rio De Janeiro. His placing at the event landed him a country quota spot in the PR1 men’s singles event on behalf of Tam Canada.
In a social media post, Maddison Wasserman, Jacob’s wife, celebrated her husband’s hard-earned accomplishment, writing, “He’s only been rowing for a year and a half and to finish second at an international competition is extremely impressive.” She continued, “I have seen Jacob put in countless hours training and working hard for this moment. I can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of him!!! He truly is a remarkable individual.”
“SAY OUI TO PARIS! Canada has earned a country quota spot for Paris 2024 in the PR1 Men’s Single!” Rowing Canada wrote in an Instagram caption, celebrating the athlete’s impressive qualification for the Paralympics.
“Congrats to Para rower Jacob Wassermann, capturing the silver 🥈 medal at the Continental Qualification Regatta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 🇧🇷 this past weekend! The top finisher in each event secured a spot for their country for Paris 2024 however there is still a qualification window open through quota reallocation! 🤞 With only one season on the water for Jacob, the future certainly looks 🌟 ! Way to represent! 💪🇨🇦” Rowing Canada added in another post.
Wasserman, the goaltender for the Humboldt Broncos, was only 18 years old at the time of the devastating bus crash, where he was one of 13 people who survived the accident. The collision with a semi-truck caused him to suffer from a brain injury, two collapsed lungs, a broken shoulder blade, fractured ribs, and nasal bone fractures and he was induced into a coma, according to reports.
The driver of the truck that crashed into the bus carrying the hockey team was sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2019 for charges related to dangerous driving. Reportedly, the man was granted parole last year but is fighting deportation back to India.
In the years following the accident, Wasserman discovered rowing as his newfound athletic passion. “I actually ran into one of my current teammates in a grocery store, and he said it was a new thing that he was trying out,” Wasserman told Discover Humboldt. “I thought that sounded interesting and I’d love to give it a try and it started from there.”
“I’ve really started to enjoy rowing and I plan to stick with it once we get on the water. It’s an Olympic sport, so there’s more opportunity with it for sure, and there’s more exposure and supports connected to the rowing world around here just in the short time I’ve been in the sport,” he added.
Featured image credit: Rowing Canada Instagram
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