Jacob Wassermann is only a few days from heading to Paris to represent his country at the highest level of Para sports, but it still doesn’t feel real.
Whatever happens at his Para rowing event in the 2024 Paralympic Games, the 24-year-old is already feeling on top of the world.
“The fact that I’ve been able to get this far and be able to go out there is a pretty big accomplishment in my book already,” he said after clambering out of his boat on an early morning rowing practice at Regina’s Wascana Lake.
Six years ago, Wassermann was still recovering from the international headline-making 2018 Humboldt Broncos’ bus crash, which left the hockey goaltender paralyzed from the waist down.
Even then, quitting sports was never in his mind.
“I still wanted to try and be in hockey and stay in that world as much as I could,” he said, adding sports have always been central to his life. “Since I could walk really, I had a mini stick in my hand or [was] kicking around a soccer ball.”
Nearly two years ago, he joined a session at the Saskatoon Rowing Club, thinking he’d give the sport a go as a way to keep his body healthy and strong.
It ended up being the hardest workout he’d ever done, pre or post-injury. Somehow, he thrived on it.
“You gotta be a little bit crazy, I think, to be a rower [and] to enjoy some of the pain that comes with it,” he said. “But it’s a bit of a thrill to be out there and on the water and doing things that I wasn’t doing before I was injured. I wouldn’t have been able to do something like this before.”
Six years ago, Jacob Wassermann was still recovering from the international headline-making 2018 Humboldt Broncos’ bus crash, which left the hockey goaltender paralyzed from the waist down. Now, he’s about to represent his country as a rower in the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Wassermann headed to Rio de Janeiro in March for an international event that saw him upend expectations by getting a silver medal and qualifying for the Paralympics PR1 men’s single event.
“It was a bit of a shock,” he said.
The qualification meant he and his coaching staff had to hop into overdrive to train for this year’s Paralympics.
“We’re preparing five years earlier than what we were ready for.”
Athletes like Wassermann, with the right combination of athletic ability, a good build and a work ethic, can sometimes excel quickly in Para sports, said John Wetzstein, head coach and technical director with the Saskatchewan Rowing Association.
“You always have an eye open for these talented athletes that come along. And it’s pretty special when they do,” he said. “To be able to work with someone like Jacob is really a thrill.”
Both Wetzstein and Wassermann see these upcoming Games as an opportunity to chart out his future success in the sport.
Wassermann’s wife and family will be there in the stands cheering him on, but so will some of his fellow Humboldt Broncos, whom he counts as his next biggest fans.
“Everybody’s so much more than just the Humboldt Broncos,” he said, noting his other teammates are also still pursuing athletic and personal goals, and finding different pictures of success. “I mean, that’s gonna be a part of us forever, and we’re all very proud to be that. But we all are so much more.”
It’s not lost on him, though, that the highly publicized 2018 bus crash will make his journey mean even more to the Canadians cheering him on from the sidelines. It’s overwhelming at times, but special all the same.
“I’m super appreciative,” he said. “I’ve gotten so many, so many messages of good luck and to go kick butt out there as much as I can.”
Now he hopes to do just that.