How High Jumper Sam Grewe Overcame Cancer to Become 2020 Tokyo Paralympics Champion
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Sam Grewe
Sam Grewes clinched the gold medal in men’s T63 high jump event on day 7 of the Tokyo Paralympics. Clearing a height of 1.88m, Grewe became Paralympics Champion, carving his place in history.
His winning jump in the finals was just short of the world record he holds at 1.90m. India’s Mariyappan Thangavelu took silver while his compatriot Sharad Kumar clinched Bronze in a double podium for India. Walking away with a silver medal from the Rio Paralympics was not enough for Grewe, who had set his sight on gold this year.
Grewe’s journey has been anything but simple, with the American developing osteosarcoma, a type of cancer, at the age of just 13. This resulted in an amputation in his right leg, but it did not deter him from following his dreams. The youngster joined the University of Notre Dam, where he represents the institution in track and field. Represting USA for the second time at the Paralympics, Sam has finally won the elusive gold medal, after taking home silver in Rio.
Grewe’s set of challenges are not over just yet however, because as he celebrates his gold medal he has another obstacle to get over- medical school.
Sam Grewe heads off to Medical School after Tokyo Paralympics
One month ago Grewe enrolled in medical school at the University of Michigan, in the hopes of becoming a kind of physician he had never encountered before; a doctor with a disability. Grewe has been studying for 6 hours a day along with practicing and performing in his event. Grewe has often said that he finds studying to be therapeutic.
Grewe chose to become a doctor due to his own past experiences with the health care system. He said that when he lost his leg he had a great support system with wonderful doctors and nurses. However none of them had disabilities, and he found himself to be quite lost because he did not know who to go to for advise.
Spending two years in the hospital, seeing the under-representation of people within medicine with disabilities was a big driving factor for me to go on and pursue a career in medicine so I can fulfil that role for somebody else,” said Grewe, who is a cancer survivor.
Grewe will be attending University of Michigan, where he hopes to continue his long jump career along with fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor.
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