Winning comes naturally to the United States’ Jack Wallace, but after a summer-time switch to the water, he’s having to learn how to rise to the top of his game.
After over 15-years-old of training on the ice, Wallace has found a love of the water and has his sights set on a fourth Paralympic Games – but this time in Paracanoe.
What started out as a summer training session, the three-time Winter Paralympic champion in sled hockey has dreams of competing as a dual-athlete at a home Paralympic Games.
After being called up for the US National Team in 2016 at just 18-years-old, Wallace is looking for another challenge a decade on.
“I started training in Paracanoe in 2022 after the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, so I could train a little bit in the summers and stay fresh,” said Wallace.
Wallace couldn’t turn down an opportunity to keep competing, and have the support of a home crowd helping him toward the finish line.
“It’s developed over time, and now potentially into a Summer Games,” said Wallace.
“With LA28 now around the corner, it seems like an awesome opportunity to compete on home waters and keep representing my country.
“It’s [Paracanoe] a great sport."
It hasn’t been all plain sailing road for Wallace.
But nothing was going to stop him from having the opportunity to compete at both a summer and winter editions of the Paralympic Games.
“It can be challenging at times to balance both sports, the Paris qualifiers and our World Championships in 2024 were the same weekend,” he said.
“That was a bit of an issue, but I think the training itself lends itself really well between the two sports.”
They may be worlds apart to most, but water and ice have quite a lot in common for Wallace.
“It’s a lot of power, speed, and upper body strength. Lots of athleticism and coordination also,” he said.
“The road to LA28 starts right now, we [the USA] want to have as many athletes representing as possible.
“This is my first event since the World Championships in Milan and I’m trying to see where I’m at - see how I stack up against everyone else.
“There’s lots of work left to do.”
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