Fayetteville native and Concord University alum Jonathan Gore hopes to inspire other people with a disability by sharing his story. Gore made it to this year’s Paralympics. Next week, he’s the featured speaker at a special event in southern West Virginia.
Gore was a standout track and field athlete at Concord University. Shortly after graduation, Gore lost the lower part of his leg in a lawnmower accident.
But that didn’t stop his Olympic aspirations. Gore went on to not only compete in two events of the 2021 Paralympics, but finished fourth in the 200-meter dash in Tokyo.
He will share his journey of determination at the event called, “America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion.” It’s meant to show how employing people with disabilities can help the nation recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. There are more than 590,000 people with disabilities in West Virginia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The event begins on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. on Concord’s Athens campus in the ballroom of the Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center.