Joshua

Wold

About:

Joshua Wold (Tumwater, Washington) was an Army Ranger sniper and was serving in Baghdad, Iraq, when his vehicle drove over an improvised explosive device (IED) on September 2, 2007. Three people were injured. Wold suffered brain damage, hearing loss and lost over half of his right foot.

His first taste of kayaking came in 2008 during rehabilitation at the Center for the Intrepid on the campus of the Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio. It was there that 1996 Olympic slalom kayaker Ben Kvanli taught him how to kayak in a pool. Kvanli coordinates the San Antonio chapter of Team River Runner, a nonprofit organization designed to get wounded soldiers out of the water and paddling. After a few pool sessions, Kvanli and Wold made the trip to the whitewater of the San Marcos River. Adjusting to the speed of canoe sprint kayaking has taken some getting used to for Wold, but that didn't stop him from qualifying for the 2012 World Championships and making a semifinal in his first ever major international competition.

Wold competes is currently competing in the K1 LTA (Legs, trunks, and arms) category and is working towards qualifying for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio.