Joe Delagrave
Whether you’re a certified Olympics Superfan like me or someone who enjoyed casually tuning in during primetime to check out gymnastics and swimming, you’ve likely noticed the rings-shaped void that has existed since the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. If you find yourself missing that irresistible combination of high-stakes international competition and inspiring performances, you’re in luck. The 2024 Summer Paralympics will take place Aug. 28 through Sept. 8, also in Paris. And as with this year’s Olympics, there are local connections.
Nashville resident Joe Delagrave spent 13 years playing for Team USA’s wheelchair rugby squad and was a key part of winning silver in Tokyo in 2021 and bronze in London in 2012. Now the two-time Paralympic medalist will be leading the team — and he’s made the often-difficult transition from player to coach look easy.
While serving as the program’s interim coach, Delagrave led Team USA to its first world championship final in 12 years at the 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Championships. Now, after being installed as the team’s full-time head coach, he’s hoping to guide the United States to its first gold medal since the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
“Going from athlete to coach and coaching some of my former peers that I played with, it’s definitely a tough transition with letting some of those peer-to-peer relationships dissipate so I could build a coach-player relationship,” Delagrave tells the Scene.
“That’s a really special bond that you have. … Having that special bond off the court and on the court is so important to who you are and your identity, and removing myself from that and playing a different role as head coach took some time to adjust, but I think we’ve come a long way since that first season. I couldn’t have done this without the support from the athletes, our staff, and being able to to build those relationships.”
In the century since the Olympics were last held in Paris, the American South — and Nashville specifically — has been a part of the Games
When Delagrave was 19 years old, heading into the sophomore season of his Division II football career at Winona State, he suffered a spinal cord injury during a boating accident. It took time for the collegiate athlete to adjust following the injury, but when he happened upon a video of a wheelchair rugby game, he immediately wanted to get involved. Skills developed from his years playing football — physicality, hand-eye coordination, working within a team dynamic — made him a desirable wheelchair rugby recruit. Delagrave found himself fast-tracked to the national team.
“Any sport where you get to put on a USA jersey across your chest, it’s a pretty special moment,” Delagrave says. “For me, the ultimate was in 2012. I made the Paralympic roster for London, and representing our country, putting on that jersey, having my wife and parents in the stands, our newborn Braxton who at the time was 6 months old was there, it was such an honor and something that I don’t take lightly, still to this day.”
Delagrave wants to use the platform wheelchair rugby has given him to inform more people about the realities of living with a spinal cord injury. Since 2018, the Wisconsin native has been involved with Wings for Life, a nonprofit dedicated to spinal cord injury research. In September — National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month — Delagrave will auction off a game-used rugby ball to raise money for spinal cord injury research.
“A good analogy for a spinal cord injury is the iceberg visualization,” Delagrave says. “You see the wheelchair and you see that they have a disability, and you’re probably thinking, ‘OK, that’s not an easy thing to navigate around in an accessible world.’ But below that is all the different things that come with it, whether that’s pressure sores or regulating your body temperature or using catheters to go to the bathroom or autonomic dysreflexia and nerve pain, or whatever it is.
“There’s a lot of awesome organizations and nonprofits out there that are doing great work,” he continues. “But it’s just great to be aligned with an organization like Wings for Life that is truly looking to help spinal cord injuries — whether that’s walking again, more hand function, any little thing that can help us have a better quality of life is huge.”
The wheelchair rugby competition in Paris begins on Aug. 29 and runs through Sept. 2. You can watch the action on USA and CNBC or stream the games on Peacock.
