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By Olivia Sayer
Jarryd Wallace of USA celebrates after finishing third in the Men’s T64 200 metre final at the Olympic Stadium on day eleven during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo By Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images/Courtesy Jarryd Wallace)
Jarryd Wallace was just 19 years old when his life drastically changed.
The pain started when Wallace was running track at Oconee County High School. The son of legendary Georgia women’s tennis coach Jeff Wallace, he had multiple state championships and a scholarship offer to run track at Georgia.
However, pain in his right leg led to a diagnosis of compartment syndrome. Wallace had a buildup of pressure inside his muscle that restricted the flow of blood and oxygen to his cells. In an effort to relieve the pressure, Wallace underwent surgery. The procedure was common for runners, with his mom Sabina Wallace even undergoing it twice.
It did not go as planned for the 19-year-old, as he discovered about four days later. When the bandages were removed, Wallace saw the suture from his procedure had come undone, and about 60 percent of the muscle from his knee down was dead.
Wallace made the decision in February 2010 to have his leg amputated as a result of the complications. The decision was not easy but made Wallace feel at peace.
“I was comfortable and trusted the Lord’s plan for me, and realized that it was different than the one I had for myself,” Wallace told UGA Today in 2021. “I understood that the loss of the leg was not the loss of my life. If anything, it became a second opportunity at life.”
The day after his amputation, Wallace sent a letter to the head of the U.S. Paralympic team saying he will be a part of the team that goes to London in 2012. His declaration came true, and Wallace earned the first alternate spot as the “coach’s choice” athlete due to his performance in the Trials.
That was just the beginning of Wallace’s Paralympic journey, as the former Bulldog is now a four-time Paralympian with two bronze medals. His most recent medal came last week in Paris, with a third-place finish in the long jump T64.
Wallace reached a mark of 7.49 meters/24 feet, 7 inches on his fifth attempt to secure his second-career Paralympic medal. The 34-year-old made the switch to long jump after previously competing in the sprinting events.
“I wasn’t having fun, and I think that’s always been kind of my marker,” Wallace told AP News. “But I just didn’t feel like I was supposed to be done with track.”
The decision worked out well for Wallace, who after once being told at 19 years old his running career was likely over, stood on the podium as one of the world’s best athletes.