A small crowd begins to gather as Jason Gradyan talks about his experiences as a paraplegic at the Green Valley High School track on Nov. 18. Gradyan, who often can be found training at the track, recently competed in the Silverman Half Distance Triathlon.
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008 | midnight
As Jason Gradyan takes the track at Green Valley High for his evening training, he can’t help but draw a crowd.
Children gather to watch Gradyan speed around the track in his wheelchair, which leaves all of the local joggers in the dust.
When one child asks if he’s attempting to break a record, Gradyan replies: “I just want to stay healthy.”
Gradyan, who has used a wheelchair since breaking a bone in his back in 2002, may not be aiming to break records, but his accomplishments are no less amazing.
On Nov. 9, he completed the Nevada Silverman Triathlon half-distance race in 7 hours, 27 minutes, finishing 195th out of 291 competitors. The race consisted of 1.2 miles of swimming, 13.1 miles of running and 56 miles of cycling.
Gradyan, 30, used a hand-bike for cycling, and was allowed to do the run portion in his wheelchair. He is capable of swimming.
“I was ecstatic about my times,” he said. “There are some advantages to the wheelchair in the run, but the bike is extremely challenging. I’m doing everything you would do with your legs, with my arms.”
Gradyan grew up in Las Vegas used to activity, wrestling and playing football for Valley and continuing with intramural sports at UNLV.
His life took a drastic change less than two weeks before his college graduation, when he was hiking Red Rock with friends.
Gradyan took a wrong step and fell 40 feet onto his back. When Gradyan woke up, he had little feeling below his waist and had to learn to walk again.
“At the time you don’t feel lucky at all because it’s not a pleasant experience,” he said. “But over time I realized that I am lucky. That’s the natural progression. You eventually realize life is still good.”
Gradyan tried to live a normal life, but for a man used to racquetball and hiking with his friends, it took a lot of adjustment.
Swimming was the one activity he could still do effectively, so he spends most of his free time at the Henderson Multigenerational Center pool.
Silverman Director Frank Lowery saw Gradyan doing laps and decided to turn him on to the competition.
“Jason has a lot of confidence,” Lowery said. “All he needed was some reassurance that he could do it. He’s an inspiration.”
After starting with the with just the swimming competition at 2005’s Silverman, Gradyan got interested in various long distance races including full marathons.
He purchased a race chair, which can reach speeds of 35 mph on straightaways, and began training with Barbara Chambers, chairperson for Wheelchair Sports USA.
“He has worked very hard to get to where he is,” Chambers said. “He has such an intense desire to get to that next level of competition.”
Gradyan teaches children ways to overcome their disabilities for the Clark County School District as an adapted physical education teacher. His work involves travelling to elementary schools across the northeast area of Las Vegas and helping students with disabilities get physical education.
“If there is one thing my disability has done for me, it has made me humble,” he said. “I don’t care anymore that I got injured. I’m so used to my life now that I don’t even think about it.”
Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].
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