BRADENTON, Fla. — The USA men’s wheelchair basketball team aims for its third consecutive gold medal when the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begin this August. This year’s roster features one of the most decorated players in the sport— 45-year-old Bradenton resident Paul Schulte.
He is a two-time Paralympic medalist and National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Famer. Now, he is the oldest player on Team USA, having last competed in the Paralympic Games in 2012.
He retired from the game in 2015 thinking his competitive basketball days were behind him.
“I could just feel that I wasn't getting any better. I was really kind of tapering, and I wasn't playing as good as I used to,” he said.
Schulte devoted himself to spending more time with family and serving at his church. After a few years, he realized he wasn’t happy with how he felt physically. Taking the advice of a friend, he got into adaptive cycling.
Through that activity, he lost approximately 40 pounds. He and his teenage son, Brady, added a morning weight-lifting routine and Schulte noticed he was back in good shape.
“It was just like that movie 'The Rookie,' the baseball movie, where I was like, ‘I feel good, I feel really good.’ But shockingly, I feel better than I did years ago,” he said. “I had been involved in broadcasting. I had watched the national team and I saw a little opportunity.”
Schulte set his sights on seizing that opportunity.
He intensely trained for a year ahead of tryouts in January at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. During that five-day camp, the once-retired wheelchair basketball star impressed the coaching staff and was officially named to the Team USA roster in March.
“Every month, I have gotten faster and stronger and better. So I can't wait to compete in our games leading up to Paris and then absolutely can't wait for my family to see me play there,” he said.
Team USA begins group play at the Paralympic Games on Aug. 28 against Spain.