Like many kids, Jarryd Wallace had the dream to be a professional athlete. Unlike most kids, Jarryd had the talent to do so, but an injury setback would dampen those aspirations unless a radical decision was made. At peace with his choice, Jarryd Wallace decided to amputate his leg in order to achieve his goals of one day being at the top of his sport.

Being from Athens, Jarryd was the product of two University of Georgia legends, a family rich with history in Bulldog athletics. His father Jeff Wallace, a tennis player in the mid-1980s and longtime women’s tennis head coach (one of two college coaches with 800+ wins), and his mother Sabina, a track star in the mid-80s as well, are among those grand Georgia couples, as Loran Smith would say, that met, fell in love and raised a family here in the Classic City.

As a child, athletics were consistent parts of Jarryd and his sister Brittany’s lives. Tennis was the immediate love of Jarryd thanks to his dad, and that’s where Jarryd saw his career path both in college and hopefully beyond. However, come freshman year of high school, Jarryd began his track and field and cross country career; a superstar was born at Oconee County High School.

“They didn’t pressure me either way,” Jarryd said. “They just wanted me to excel in any way, shape or form. I began running my freshman year and realized I was pretty good: I was the only freshman on the varsity squad, I beat the defending state champ, and I wasn’t really growing anymore. Tennis is a big man’s sport, you know? So, running was really where my passion was.”

A couple of state titles later, pain began shooting through his right leg. A doctor’s opinion told Jarryd and his family it was a stress reaction. It would later be diagnosed as compartment syndrome. A scholarship to run at UGA and a professional track dream was at stake.

“The first response was to just save my leg, to get me stable,” said Jarryd. “Unfortunately, we had complications in that initial surgery and found ourselves back in the OR. I underwent six or seven surgeries in the span of a few weeks. At that point, you’re just trying to figure out which way is up.”

When Jarryd found himself trying to control the outcome of his life, when Jarryd became chronically addicted to painkillers, when all hope was lost, Jarryd surrendered and leaned into his faith. Prayers then became answers.

“I found myself in a doctor’s office trying to figure out what ‘next’ would look like,” Jarryd said. “He challenged me to dream beyond my circumstances; he challenged me to dream beyond this deformed limb that I had. From the initial surgery going wrong to that doctor’s visit, I lost that ability to dream, to hope, and he gave that back to me.”

After the exercise with that doctor, Jarryd was left with a radical decision to make. Looking forward, he knew he wanted to play catch with his kids, go on walks with his wife, live a pain-free life, and in order to do so, it would require amputation of his right leg below the knee.

“On June 22, 2010, we went in and had my leg amputated,” Jarryd said. “It was the best decision of my life.”

The decision was not taken lightly by Jarryd and his family, yet Jarryd was still confident. Waking up from surgery, his family was still cautious knowing he was comfortable with his choice prior to the surgery, but after, would he feel the same? It was a commitment there was no going back on.

“I woke up,” he said. “The nurses, my family, they weren’t sure what the state of this kid who just lost his leg was. So, my mom sits down on the end of the bed where my leg would have been, and I just scream at the top of my lungs, ‘Mom, you just sat on my leg!’ She started laughing, the nurses started laughing, and it was at that moment, everyone knew I was going to be alright. I set the tone in that one little, light moment, and I continue to set the tone now 14 years later.”

It was time to go to work, comeback time. If there was one lesson learned for Jarryd through the process leading up to his amputation and after, it was setting goals, creating a “success road map” to get him to the end goal. What was an Olympic dream was now a Paralympic dream.

End goal No. 1: 2012 London Paralympic Games, less than two years away from the date of his surgery.

The doctors told Jarryd he would have to lay with his leg elevated above his heart for six weeks due to the specific surgery he had and the bone graft to heal.

“Six weeks and one day after my surgery, I walked for the first time on my prosthetic,” Jarryd said. “Three months to the day after my surgery, I got my first running prosthetic and ran for the first time. Less than a year after my amputation, I made my first U.S. National team, qualifying for my first international event in the 100m dash. It was just outside of 16 months when I won my first international gold medal and ran the fastest time in the world in the 100m.”

Flash forward three Paralympics: London, Rio and Tokyo, three world championships, four world records, we arrive at the most recent Games in Paris, 2024. Another transition. After all the success, after the comeback of a lifetime, after setbacks, triumphs, a medal, records and world championships, it was time to… well… simply put, try something new: the long jump.

“I accomplished everything I wanted to in that event [sprints],” said Jarryd. “But, I felt like my career in sport wasn’t over. I really just needed a new mountain to conquer. I didn’t get Paralympic gold in running. That was the only thing left on the table that I didn’t achieve, but my identity wasn’t in a medal. My identity was enjoying what I was doing and having fun… So, we switched events, and within two years, I set the American record in the long jump of 8.06m [26 feet, six inches], and won bronze at the Paris Games.”

Jarryd can do it all. A dream rattled by a freak injury, but that dream modified with one less leg became the next goal.

“After I met with that doctor, I went back to the hotel room and started Googling amputee activities,” Jarryd said. “I saw people surfing, wakeboarding, and I was asking myself, ‘can I still play golf?’ I came across the world record list for track and field. This was just two hours after they told us that I would most likely have to amputate my leg, but I called my parents in the room, I pointed at the screen, and I said, ‘My name is going to be on this list.’”

Now, a father of two that just shared a bronze medal with his family in Paris, Jarryd still doesn’t care all about the medals. Rather, he wants to show his boys, Levi and Colton, “You can have big dreams and chase crazy things, but regardless of the outcome, you need to share it and celebrate it with those that matter the most.”