BEAUMONT, Texas — A Beaumont adaptive athlete is using his disability as momentum to one day make it to the Paralympics
At a young age, Anthony Quinn learned he had a health condition that would later lead to a physical disability.
“When I was 3 years old, I was horse playing around the house,” Quinn said. “I hit my ankle on the corner of the coffee table chasing my older brother, and when we went to go get it x-rayed, we found out that I had bone cancer."
Doctors were forced to amputate Quinn’s left leg, leaving him to play sports with a prosthetic.
"I didn't really view it as a difference or setback,” Quinn said. “It was just something extra I had to do. I just love competing. I didn't start running track until I was 27."
Quinn came close to competing in the Paralympics twice. Once, in 2017 when he ran a 63.36 to qualify for the 400-meter Paralympic National Championship. This put him one step closer to competing in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. However, he was injured shortly before he could compete.
“Maybe a week and a few days before my final qualifying event, I ended up getting injured,” Quinn said.
The recovery time caused Quinn to miss the 2021 Paralympics. He also made it to the finals ahead of the Rio Paralympics in 2016. However, Quinn remains determined to compete in the Paralympics.
“Focus on what you are able to do, to not be afraid to fail and look silly,” Quinn said.
Quinn’s competitiveness has been with him since he was a child, he said.
“Majority of that was because of my older brother,” Quinn said. “Being able to watch him perform on the court, it really inspired me.”
Regardless of the odds stacked against Quinn, he said he remains hopeful.
“To me, it's that same spirit of competition, that same drive to want to represent your country,” Quinn said.
Quinn plans to open a training facility in Southeast Texas that accommodates all adaptive athletes.