USA Wheelchair Rugby will bring home the silver medal from the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 after their 41-48 loss to Team Japan in tonight’s final. Top scorers for the U.S. were Chuck Aoki (Minneapolis, MN) with 14, Sarah Adam (Naperville, IL) with 14 and Josh Wheeler (Tucson, Az) with 7.
While the U.S. would find early success in today’s match, enjoying a 14-11 lead at the end of the first, the Japanese squad was able to force errors and turnovers that would allow them to take the match lead in the second. As the second half opened, a quick turnover by Japan seemed to spark promise for the U.S. but Japan quickly answered again and never looked back. As the final minutes of the 4th period ticked off the clock Japan extended their lead to the 41-48 finish.
Tonight’s silver medal marks the seventh straight podium performance for USA Wheelchair Rugby having captured the bronze in London and Athens, silver in Tokyo and Rio, and gold in Atlanta, Sydney and Beijing. Today’s gold for Japan marks the first Paralympic gold in their program history.
After today’s final, the athletes reflected on the promise Team USA has over these next few years. “I’m excited to see what the future holds for our program, ” said Wheeler. “There is a lot of talent that’s up and coming and hopefully we can keep them growing and developing and are dominant in future years. To our fans, thank you. Fans, family, friends, we could not do it without you. You mean everything to us. Thank you for everything.”
As for what’s next for Team USA. Captain Chuck Aoki shared his intent to pursue that elusive gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028. “I hope this silver helps our younger athletes get hungry for LA, said Aoki. “It is coming up soon. I don’t plan on stopping. I am going to take a little bit of time to relax but we are going for gold in LA.”
For scores, stats and highlights visit usawr.org.