Some of the most inspiring moments in sports have come from players with physical defects. Tom Dempsey, born without toes on his right foot, kicked a 63-yard field goal in 1970, using a straighter, wider shoe.
I don't see myself as disabled. There's nothing I can't do that able-bodied athletes can do.
After having polio, my right leg was weaker, so I wasn't great at football. But I swam lots and even did long-distance running.
In para-cycling I am a veteran with Olympic medals now.
People used to call the Paralympics the 'Special Olympics.' These men and women are athletes. They are warriors. They are people who are not confined by what they have been given. It's amazing to see where, and how far, the human body can really go.
I ended up winning a silver medal at the Summer X Games Adaptive Supercross seven months after my injury - on a leg that I built.
After snowboarding a fair bit in 2011 and 2012 to test equipment, I got pretty good at it, and some friends at Adaptive Action Sports talked me into competing at the exhibition event at the Winter X Games in the adaptive boardercross. I was able to step up my game pretty quick and compete. I took last place, but knew I could improve.
I had a wreck during a race in Michigan, which led to the hyperextension of my left leg and subsequent amputation.
Having adaptive events televised in the X Games is huge. There are people out there who might want to do this but don't think they can. They can see us out here tearing it up. That's going to help people realize that if you want something bad enough, you can get there.
My dad gave me my first bike at 16. I soon fell off and was in a wheelchair for weeks. I haven't fallen since.
I've been supporting Help for Heroes for many years - I actually rode in their first-ever official fundraiser back in 2008. I have witnessed the great work that Help for Heroes do to support those who have suffered life-changing injuries and illnesses, and I want to do all I can to help raise as much as possible.
I love the way this sport has evolved and impacted every segment of society. Now you have cross training and weight training in every sport and from middle school kids to senior citizens.
It's extremely important for my sit ski to be perfectly fit to me. If it's too big, and I shift around, the energy and strength I put into propelling myself forward will be lost. The right fit is everything in my sport.
I think it's phenomenal and expected that Paralympians will take on able bodied people more and more. In dressage, it happens all the time. But there are very few adaptions, and they are never allowed to give you an advantage.
I was born with scoliosis. I have a double curvature of the spine, and it's forced me to use a wheelchair because the disease has really taken hold. It really saddens me that I can't ride.
When I returned to the Touring Car championship, I got the team to create a special brake pedal that I could use with my prosthetic leg.
It's kind of mind-blowing what some of us adaptive athletes can accomplish as far as physical sports.
When you lose your hands, you can't play baseball.
The night before my amputation, my former basketball coach brought me a magazine with an article on an amputee who ran in the New York Marathon. It was then I decided to meet this new challenge head on and not only overcome my disability, but conquer it in such a way that I could never look back and say it disabled me.
Just because we are in wheelchairs doesn't mean we can't play a fast-paced, full-contact sport.
Paralympics... fascinating because just watching anyone with a major disability trying to do everyday chores is fun to watch.
When I got hurt - I broke my back in a match in London, England - I had to retire and became just a commentator.
I think it is going to be wonderful. I went to the Paralympics in Beijing and have seen how brilliant the sport is at first hand. People are going to love it. It is going to change people's attitudes to Paralympians and it is going to be a great show.
Having loved sport my whole life, competing in a Paralympics would be a dream come true.
If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair.
