Paralympic Gold to Patriots Red, White, and Blue
As a track and field star at Brockton High School, Joseph LaMar had just won the New England title for running the mile in 1990, but shortly after this achievement, he’d have his right leg amputated from the knee down due to a tumor.
Just two years later, he’d win gold at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona and has competed in at the highest level of multiple adaptive sports.
On a day at the beach, LaMar’s father pointed out a strange lump on his foot and quickly found out it was a tumor. LaMar was just in the seventh grade and would have multiple surgeries removing the recurring tumor over the next five years, but in his senior year it had spread to other parts of the body, and the doctors advised amputating it on the spot.
However, LaMar pushed back noting that he wanted to accomplish more in his cross-country and indoor track season, but at one point it had to go. Going into the surgery, he felt his life was coming to an end, but when he arrived home for the first time with his community of support, it inspired him.
“I spent one night at the hospital and returning to a large group of friends and family piled into the house and that told me I’d be just fine,” LaMar explained. “From that first day, I knew I had to just get back on my feet.”
In the coming days of receiving his prosthetic, he’d attempt to run down the street but would tire quickly. He wasn’t going to let the physical impairment deter him from sports and learned about the Paralympics through a Runner’s World Magazine a nurse gave him and he said “That’s what I’m going to do.”
Getting in contact with his high school coach Bill Jennings, they started training and soon enough he’d put up times to qualify for the 400 meters and when he left for Spain, he wouldn’t return empty-handed.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “It was a three-week process and I didn't get to enjoy it like I probably should have because in my head I was just going over there to compete. I took it that way and came home with a gold medal.”
In the Men’s 400 TS2 event, LaMar crossed over the line with a time of 0:58.85, nearly two seconds up on second place. His Paralympic career spanned eight years and he’d earn his second opportunity to compete when he qualified for the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia.
This time running the 800 meters, he’d take home bronze and believed it would be the last accomplishment of his career, and for a while, it was. However, in 2008, this would change.
“After Sydney, I thought my sports were done,” he explained. “But I kept seeing friends playing wheelchair sports and I became interested.”
Originally LaMar would show up to wheelchair basketball games and practices to show his support for those on the court. It wouldn’t be until one of the players chirped at him day after day for LaMar to try his hand at the sport.
“I didn't feel that I belonged in wheelchair sports being an amputee,” he said. “I had people over the years challenging me saying, ‘Lamar, you should be in a chair. You should come join us. You're here all the time anyway,’ and one time one of those guys rolled over my good foot and said ‘You’re just a punk, if you’re not gonna play just leave,’ and so I hopped in a chair and I was hooked.”
It was a tough adjustment for him, but through this experience, he was introduced to the world of wheelchair sports and the following year joined the wheelchair softball team. He’d eventually competed in a medley of sports and was a part of the 2016 and 2017 world championship-winning Team USA.
“I cannot complain at all about my sporting career and all I've accomplished,” LaMar said.
His most recent project has been with the New England Patriots Wheelchair football team, one which he had much influence starting. Over the past 10 years, he worked in tandem with Adaptive Sports New England President Joe Walsh and was one of the first people to be on board with the new endeavor. The team just wrapped up their first season and laMar was excited to bring his knowledge and mentorship to the team.
“I'm in the stage of my career where it's all about helping other people get better,” LaMar said. “I'm always gonna give advice. I'm always going to mentor new players.”
LaMar has 30 years of coaching experience and has continued on teaching the youth Jennings’ motto of the five C’s for success: courage, commitment, character, class, and confidence. However, he has added a sixth C.
“The most important thing [Jennings] was missing was communication. It came to me a couple of years after I graduated when I started coaching. I thought that communication was key to everything. How I see that that carries over into life. And if you look at every word there and make sure that you can follow those words, you can achieve anything.”