to begin treating some of the injuries. He would spend nearly a year in the hospital and in rehabilitation, before being released in a wheelchair, completely paralyzed from the chest down. Saunders faced a difficult transition to life as a paraplegic, experiencing bouts of depression and emotional distress. Saunders credits former rugby teammates and workout partners, Robert Hays and Bruce Acuna, with forcing him to get back into the gym where he began strength training. Athletic career In 1983 (two years after his injury) Saunders was persuaded by his brother, Gerald from Greenville, South Carolina to try entering his first wheelchair race, the Peachtree Road Race held in Atlanta, Georgia, every year on July 4. Saunders signed up, though he had only participated in wheelchair basketball and had never trained for a wheelchair race. About the experience, Saunders has said, “I didn’t even know how long the course was. I could understand distance in miles, but didn’t have a point of reference for how far one kilometer was, let alone 10K.”. He also lacked the proper equipment, lining up at the start in a standard-issue hospital wheelchair unsuitable for racing. During the race he was unable to maintain pace with other competitors and was eventually disqualified once he was passed by the leading foot runners. Despite the early setback, however, he enjoyed this new sport and made a decision that he would become a better wheelchair athlete. He joined a wheelchair basketball league, and continued to enter racing competitions, finding success at the regional, and then national levels. In 1984, Saunders won the bronze medal in the National Wheelchair Athletic Association's Track and Field competition in Johnson City, Tennessee. He would go on to win hundreds of medals in both domestic and international competitions. Saunders won many gold, silver and bronze medals at the National USA Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, and at various World Track & Field Competitions around the world. He was recognized as the Outstanding Male Athlete at the National and International Games on several occasions. Saunders has also won many road races throughout the United States and in other countries. He has been a multiple national record holder, Pan American record holder, world record holder and Paralympic Games record holder. Saunders won every race he competed in at the National Wheelchair Games, including distances from 100m to 5,000m. He also won field events including javelin,