KEITH Aaron

Classification
C1 (UCI, 26 May 2021)

Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries (teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2020)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2020)

Impairment Details
In September 1993 he was involved in a cycling accident and fractured his 12th thoracic vertebra. After multiple operations, he was left with paralysis below the knee. "I was out with my road cycling team, up in the mountains in central Virginia, when it got dark and we got lost. I ended up clotheslining a service gate out on a forest road, suffering a head injury and dislocating both of my shoulders. But the main injury I couldn't recover from was the shattered portion of my spine." (teamusa.org, 31 Jan 2020, 01 Jan 2020)

General
PLANS AFTER TOKYO
He has considered retiring from the sport following the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo to focus on his business and his family. "This [Tokyo 2020] is my last shot. I'd love to keep competing, but with two kids moving into their teenage years I need to help out more around the house and I also have a small business to attend to, so it is hard to balance it all out right now. We'll see. I don't want to say, 'For sure yes' or, 'For sure no' if this will be it, we'll see how things go. If I'm able to leave it all on the table and do well in Tokyo, maybe I'll be able to walk away feeling things are completed." (teamusa.org, 31 Jan 2020)

OCCUPATION
He works as a chiropractor and owns the Woodinville Pain Relief Clinic in Washington, United States of America. (nwnews.com, 23 Jul 2021; teamusa.org, 31 Jan 2020)