Garrett Schoonover lost one of his legs in a 2017 car crash in Los Angeles.
A self-proclaimed “gym rat” with a military background, Schoover had never tried fencing until his friend, who is also an amputee, introduced him to the sport.
“I fell in love with it immediately,” Schoonover said. “We continued to train. I went to my first national event a couple of months later, just to try and get my feet wet. I had no idea what to expect, and I ended up coming away with two bronze medals.”
Schoonover continued to win medals at the national and international level, gaining the attention of national coaches. He’s currently the all weapon national champion, having won gold in the three types of fencing: foil, épée and sabre.
Later this month the Salt Lake City resident will head to Paris to compete in the Paralympic Games, which begin Aug. 28.
“Paris was always a long-shot goal,” Schoonover said. “It was that pie in the sky, if everything works out, kind of an ideal… the focus has always been on preparing for Los Angeles in 2028.”
Schoonover said the journey to his first Paralympic Games couldn’t have come without the support of the nonprofit Utah Fencing Foundation, which aims to bring the sport to people living with disabilities.
“Because there is a lot of gear, and it is very specialized, and it can be very expensive,” he said. “We are trying to garner more sponsors going forward into the Games. I would like to get to a point where I bring in enough sponsorship dollars from other sources that I can give back to the Utah Fencing Foundation and help other new fencers find a love of the sport, as I have.”
Wheelchair fencing at the Paris Paralympics is scheduled to begin at the historic Grand Palais Sept. 3.
