Jerry Deets
Competition | 1999
Hometown: Santa Cruz, California
Jerry began competing in wheelchair sports in 1968, less than a year after sustaining a spinal cord injury in a shooting accident. Throughout the 1970’s he became the premier shot putter in his class in the United States. In 1977, he held the world record in that event. During this period he competed on two USA International Stoke Mandeville Games teams and a team representing the USA at the Pan American Games.
Jerry also excelled on the basketball court. In 1978, he helped lead the Capital Cagers from Sacramento, California to the National Wheelchair Basketball championship game. Jerry was named to the all-tournament team. Jerry remained a mainstay of that team for many years.
In 1996, at the age of 47, Jerry represented the USA at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, competing in the pentathlon and shot put. He surprised many observers when he won two bronze medals while competing against athletes who in some cases were less than half his age.
