Gabriel George
Gabriel George | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Paralympics, Archery, Volunteerism |
| Website | https://worldarchery.sport/profile/24022/gabriel-george/biography |
Gabriel “Gabe” George is a medically retired U.S. Navy Corpsman and an American Paralympic athlete.
Military career
[edit]George joined the Navy in July 2004 as a corpsman.[1] His first deployment included bringing him to the Mediterranean, Israel, Haifa, Greece, Croatia, Europe, and Turkey; the second was to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was medically retired in 2009 as a result of the injuries from his motorcycle accident[2]
Archery
[edit]In 2018, George was introduced to adaptive sports through the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic in San Diego,[3] where a Paralympic coach demonstrated how he could fire a bow using string—he went to buy a bow the next day.[4] Soon George was looking to compete, participating in paralympic competitions while aiming to be included on Team USA.[5] His dedication to the sport has led to participation in the 2019 DOD Warrior Games for Team Navy,[6] candidacy for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020 (prior to its cancellation[7]), and an invitation to the Invictus Games in 2022 for Team USA.[8]
Advocacy
[edit]Medical marijuana
[edit]Because of his motorcycle accident, George suffers from chronic pain due to nerve damage. His neurologist was the first to suggest medical marijuana as a potential treatment for the side effects of his pharmaceutical regimen.[9] George has expressed that taking the drug improves his quality of life, combating the chronic pain while also not adding any side-effects [10]
Appearances
[edit]In 2019 George was a feature interviewee on the Making Good episode Veterans Oceans Adventures, aired by the BYUtv channel.[11]
George was a contestant on the American Go Big Show, appearing for the first time on January 14, 2021 as a contestant on the episode “You Can’t Unsee This!” After earning the high score in his match-up, he moved on to be a semi-finalist and appeared a second time on February 25’s episode “Go Big, Fly High.”[12][13]
References
[edit]- ^ Phillips, Sarah Jane (21 September 2018). "From archery to sailing, Navy Veteran credits National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic with keeping him on the move". VAntage Point. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
- ^ Bolles, Rachel (February 2021). "Warrior Adapts to Hit His Targets". Homeland Magazine. 10 (Adaptive Sports): 8–10.
- ^ Phillips, Sarah Jane (21 September 2018). "From archery to sailing, Navy Veteran credits National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic with keeping him on the move". VAntage Point. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
- ^ Bolles, Rachel (February 2021). "Warrior Adapts to Hit His Targets". Homeland Magazine. 10 (Adaptive Sports): 8–10.
- ^ "One-armed archer aims for Paralympics". USA TODAY Sports. June 24, 2020.
- ^ "The Overcomer: A Warrior's Commitment to Self, Others". Wounded Warrior Project. Wounded Warrior Project.
- ^ "Episode 46: Gabriel George - The one arm archer". Podtail.
- ^ Swier, Edward. "All About Sports: #2 - Archery". Invictus Games.
- ^ benk, ryan (January 3, 2017). "Central Florida Dispensary Makes First Medical Marijuana Delivery in Jacksonvilleq". WJCT.
- ^ Dionne, Brittany (January 3, 2017). "Jax First: Jacksonville Veteran gets first shipment of medical marijuana". FirstCoast News.
- ^ "Making Good". Veterans Oceans Adventures. BYU TV.
- ^ "You Can't Unsee This". Go-Big Show. TBS.
- ^ "Go Big, Fly High". Go-Big Show. TBS.