BELMONT, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – A Belmont veteran has been selected to train and compete for his spot in the 2024 Paralympic Games in France.
The games will be held in Paris in 2024, but veteran Brian Conwell is already training at the gym at least 12 times a week.
“One of my favorite quotes is, no one is perfect, but in the search for perfection you will find greatness,” said Conwell.
41-year-old Army veteran Brian Conwell is working his way to greatness. You’ll find him inside the Belmont Planet Fitness training six days a week, two times a day.
“Life is just so great right now,” said Conwell.
His workouts are impressive to watch. Conwell is a disabled veteran, with a prosthetic leg. He’s not letting his disability stop him from being an athlete.
“I have been able to show myself that I can push beyond my limits,” said Conwell.
When Conwell joined the US Army more than a decade ago he was following in his grandfather’s footsteps.
“It literally was my dream job,” said Conwell.
His dream changed in 2014 while stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas when the vehicle he was driving hit a patch of black ice.
“I ran off the ravine. When my car crashed, the floorboard pinned my legs against the dash and the engine came forward and ate them up,” said Conwell.
He spent a year in the hospital, losing one leg and the other was put back together with 30 screws, four plates and a metal rod. Conwell just started walking without assistance within the past year.
The first place he came was back to the gym so after the pandemic restrictions on gyms were lifted. The workouts are not only preparing him physically for the Paralympic Games, but mentally as well.
“By the time you are done you just feel great. Your body feels great, you’re mentally focused. Whatever you have bothering you during the day you can just release it,” said Conwell.
Brian Conwell doesn’t have a lot of downtime when he is not at the gym. Currently, he is a little league coach in Gaston County and is preparing to compete in the National Wheelchair Games in August. Conwell hopes to start a basketball wheelchair league in Gaston County.
