Rudy Garcia-Tolson
Hometown: New York City, NY
Physical Challenge: Bilateral above-knee amputee
Sports: Swimming, Running, Triathlon
Rudy is a swimmer, runner, and triathlete who has become an ambassador for Paralympic sport since his first Paralympic Games in 2004 at the age of 16. Born with multiple birth defects, including Pterygium Syndrome, a club foot, webbed fingers and a cleft lip and palate, Rudy endured 15 surgeries by the age of five before telling his parents he’d rather have a double leg amputation.
He is now a 4x Paralympian, 5x Paralympic medalist, and the first double-above knee amputee to complete an IRONMAN, among many other accomplishments. He and the Challenged Athletes Foundation have been in proud partnership since Rudy was just 8 years old. Some of Rudy’s accomplishments include being 5x Paralympic medalist (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), 6 World Championship performances, winner of ESPN’s ARETE Courage in Sports Award, Nike’s Casey Martin Award, and Rudy was also nominated for an ESPY.
In The Media
Challenged Athletes Live Q&A with Bob Babbitt Episode Two | Rudy Garcia-Tolson
Challenged Athletes Live Q&A with Bob Babbitt: Episode Fifty | Rudy Garcia-Tolson + Xterra