Jared Lenahan
"Sport is the bridge that carried me from trauma into purpose." - U.S. Navy Veteran Jared Lenahan
Lenahan served over ten years in the Navy as an FMF Corpsman and Combat Cameraman, including deployment to Afghanistan on a multinational joint task force with Provincial Reconstruction Team Uruzgan. After returning home, he survived a life-changing climbing accident in Sicily that resulted in a moderate traumatic brain injury and years of recovery involving five external fixators, multiple surgeries, and relearning to walk five different times. For more than two years, Lenahan relied on an electric wheelchair.
Through resilience and determination, he fought his way back and eventually earned a spot on the U.S. Paraclimbing Team, competing internationally and winning two silver medals from 2018 through 2022. Lenahan discovered adaptive sports by chance through a Facebook event for an Adaptive Bouldering Competition at his local climbing gym, where he found the familiar sense of community that reminded him of his skateboarding roots.
Climbing remains Lenahan's foundation, though he has since transitioned into ice climbing and mountaineering after a finger injury. He has summited Mt. Washington in winter and top rope soloed Roaring Brook Falls at night. Each discipline challenges him differently - sport climbing sharpens his technique while ice and alpine climbing test his grit and problem-solving abilities in the mountains.
As a Move United Warfighters Ambassador, Lenahan has channeled his experience into creating Climbable, a program that helps recovering warriors and veterans discover empowerment through adaptive sports. For him, climbing has been therapy, training ground, and community all in one - restoring his confidence, independence, and connection with others while proving he is more capable than his injuries once allowed him to believe.
Sports
- Ice Climbing/Adaptive Ice Climbing,
- Rock Climbing/Adaptive Rock Climbing,
- Skateboarding/Adaptive Skateboarding
