Caleb Stallings, a 17-year old paraplegic athlete from Lafayette, Ga., works out at Club Fitness with his trainer Ed James in preparation for an upcoming biathlete paralympic event. Stallings is traveling to Colorado next month to train for the skiing and target shooting events. He has never snow-skiied before.
The daunting distance that lies in front of him is intimidating, so Caleb Stallings keeps his eyes focused just a few feet ahead.
The LaFayette, Ga., 17-year old, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident when he was 4, has approached every obstacle in his life with similar singular purpose.
“If it’s a challenge, then I want to try it,” Caleb said. “But whatever it is I’m doing, I just focus on what’s right in front of me. I don’t want to look up and out too far because then it would seem overwhelming and I would get scared or doubt myself.”
It is that desire to constantly find new challenges that led Caleb to accept an offer to try out for the U.S. Paralympic team, competing in the biathlon. That event includes 16 miles of Nordic skiing, stopping every four miles to shoot five targets, and competitors are judged on both how quickly they cover the frozen distance as well as their accuracy on the rifle range.
“I had never even heard of it before but I was recommended as someone who had all the qualities they were probably looking for, and, after interviewing, the coaches really wanted me to try it,” said Caleb, who will be the youngest qualifier on the American team by at least eight years.