Paralympic Medalist, Jeremy Campbell, to visit DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan

DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM) is pleased to welcome Paralympic gold medalist, Jeremy Campbell, to Detroit. Jeremy will be speaking to patients, staff and athletes with disabilities at RIM on Wednesday, April 10 from 12-1:30 pm in RIM’s auditorium, located at 261 Mack, Detroit, MI. The event is free and open to the public.

Campbell, from Perryton, TX, was born without a right fibula and had is lower leg amputated when he was only 16 months old. The youngest of three brothers, Campbell grew up in an athletic family and wanted to follow in his brothers’ athletic footsteps, even if he had just one foot to do it.

He spent most of his entire life competing against able-bodied athletes, first as an All-State football player in high school and then in other sports.  As a member of the U.S. National Track & Field Paralympic Team, he has achieved world-wide success and broken numerous records.

Campbell, who competes with a carbon-fiber blade attached to his right leg, is the first disabled athlete to break 60 meters in the 1.5-kilo discus. He set a world record at the Endeavor Games with a throw of 63.45 meters (208 feet, 2 inches).
Campbell earned a pair of gold medals in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing in the discus and pentathlon, and most recently he won gold again in the discus at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
Not only is Jeremy training for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, he has also set his eyes on qualifying and competing in the Olympic Games. Off the track, Jeremy prides himself on giving back in the community and being an active role model for those with a disability to show others that no dream is ever too big or out of reach. 

In recognition of his accomplishments, Campbell will receive “The Spirit of da Vinci Award, ” and deliver the keynote speech at the National MS Society’s 2013 da Vinci Awards^® gala, Thursday, April 11, at the Ford Conference and Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan. 
The da Vinci Awards^® are an international forum of recognition for the most innovative developments in adaptive and assistive technologies.  Inventors and innovators from around the world will compete to win the da Vinci Award in each of five award categories, with the winners announced live at the April 11 gala.

For more information about the da Vinci Awards, visit http://www.davinciawards.org/