ORANGE PARK, Fla. — Tre'Shaun Faison, an Orange Park athlete, is in Indiana training for his first ever Paralympic Games in Paris.
The Paralympics occur after the Olympics; it is a series of sports events involving athletes with disabilities.
Faison is visually impaired and will represent Team USA in the goalball competition.
In the sport, goalball players must wear eye shades. Teams are made up of six players as the objective is to throw the ball past their opponents into their net to score points.
Faison was introduced to the sport in middle school at the Florida School for the Deaf & Blind in St. Augustine. He played throughout high school and joined the residency program in 2022.
Faison told First Coast News goalball took him to various countries such as Chile and Germany.
To Faison, goalball is his way to shut down people who doubt his athletic abilities. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to win a gold medal.
"You can truly achieve your goals with a lot of hard work and sacrifice," Faison said. "And sacrifice is needed to become a greater vessel. Put that into practice and truly give it your all, there's not much you can't achieve."
Growing up visually impaired, Faison said he knew he was different compared to his peers. The Orange Park resident playing goalball reassured him that he is an athlete.
"I was only really good at running. I couldn't apply that to any sport," Faison said. "Being a Paralympic athlete shows me I was wrong. Throughout my childhood, I never thought I was athletic. Once I found goalball, I love the sport, it showed me it's not true. I am an athlete."
Since 1976, U.S. goalball teams have earned 12 Paralympic Games medals. The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will feature over 4,400 athletes from around the world competing in 22 sports. The Paralympics competition is from Aug. 30 to Sept. 8.