Carlos Moleda
Competition | 2014
Hometown: Bluffton, South Carolina
Carlos Moleda grew up in São Paulo, Brazil. After a trip to California at age 16 for a skateboarding championship, Carlos fell in love with America and its people. At age 18 he moved to the United States, not yet knowing the language well. Carlos eventually joined the US Navy at the age of 26. Hard work and dedication enabled Carlos to secure a spot on the elite Navy Seals. A few years later, Carlos found himself in the middle of an intense firefight in Panama’s Operation Just Cause. Nine of the ten men in his unit were wounded – four fatally. Carlos was hit near his spine and leg, and lost feeling in his lower body forever.
Competitive sports proved to be the best way to recover from his traumatic combat injury. Carlos’ first competition was the 1990 Veteran’s Games, less than six months after being wounded. He went on from there to become a world renowned athlete. Carlos completed the Race Across America, won the Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship five times and competed in numerous other triathlons and cycling competitions around the world. He won the 367-mile Sadler’s Ultra Challenge handcycle race in Alaska and was a six-time National Handcycling Champion. On top of all those achievements, Carlos summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.
A list of his accomplishments could go on and on, but perhaps more impressively is how Carlos made his mark in working with young people, motivating and inspiring them to reach their potential. He coached the Virginia Beach Sun Wheelers Junior Team for four years in the early 2000’s, taking them to
Junior Nationals several years. He served as a spokesman for the Challenged Athletes Foundation and uses his expertise and motivational skills to teach younger kids with disabilities how to ride handcycles. Carlos is also a triathlon coach for CAF Operation Rebound and coaches the only all-female handcycling team in the world. He mentors young people on teams like the New Jersey Navigators, working with them in workshops and providing them inspiration. Carlos took a tragedy in his life and made it an opportunity to inspire and encourage youngsters with disabilities never to give up.
