Bruce Karr
1983
Bruce was one of the pioneering competitors whose extraordinary athletic talents allowed him to compete at the international level in swimming, track and field, table tennis, and archery. Though he excelled across many sports, his favorite discipline was always wheelchair basketball.
As one of the early adaptive athletes, Bruce’s versatility helped pave the way for future generations to have a broader range of sports opportunities in which to specialize.
At the 1960 Paralympic Games in Rome, Italy, Bruce was a member of the gold medal basketball team, while also capturing gold medals in freestyle, breaststroke, and backstroke swimming events—an impressive feat during an era when there were only three athlete classifications.
Bruce’s athletic success extended far beyond the Paralympic stage. He was the NWAA Novice Archery National Champion in 1975 and the Short Archery Champion in 1981. In addition, he won the National Table Tennis Singles Championship in both 1971 and 1973.
Over the span of his distinguished career, Bruce represented Team USA at five Paralympic Games:
1960 – Rome, Italy
1964 – Tokyo, Japan
1968 – Tel Aviv, Israel
1972 – Heidelberg, Germany
1976 – Toronto, Canada
He also competed in three Stoke Mandeville Games (1971–1978), the 1968 Pan American Games in Kingston, Jamaica, the 1973 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, and the 1975 Gold Cup in Brugge, Belgium.
After retiring from competition, Bruce remained deeply involved in adaptive sports as the coach and general manager of the Chicago Sidewinders, a team that frequently reached the NWBA Final Four. He also served as an active fundraiser and long-time Board Member of the National Wheelchair Athletic Committee, continuing his lifelong dedication to advancing wheelchair sports.