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Bryan Kirkland

 

Wheelchair Rugby
Leeds, Alabama

Sport: Wheelchair Rugby
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 170 lbs
DOB: August 18, 1971
Birthplace: Leeds, Alabama
Current Residence: Leeds, Alabama
Classification: 2.0

Personal Profile: 
Kirkland is a two-time U.S. Paralympian and two-time medalist. Last month he was nominated to his third U.S. Paralympic Team and will help lead the U.S. Wheelchair Rugby Team on its quest for gold in Beijing. Kirkland won a gold medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia and a bronze medal at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece. In Beijing, Kirkland plans on helping his team get back the gold medal they lost at the 2004 Athens Games.

Kirkland has been playing wheelchair rugby for 16 years. Currently, he plays for Lakeshore Demolition and has been a part of five national championships with the team. In 1998, he competed at the World Wheelchair Games where he medaled in three different track and field events (100m, 200m, 400m), and set a world record in the 200m.

Kirkland lives with his wife Shai in Leeds, Alabama where he was born and raised. He is a member of the Olympic Job Opportunities Program (OJOP) and works as an associate at Home Depot in Inverness.

Major Achievements:

  • 2007:  Nominated to 2008 U.S Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team
  • 2006:  Gold medal - World Wheelchair Rugby Championships, Christchurch, New Zealand
  • 2006:  First place - Canada Cup, Vancouver, B.C., Canada 
  • 2006:  First place - North American Cup, Birmingham, Ala. 
  • 2004:  Bronze medal - Paralympic Games, Athens, Greece 
  • 2003:  USQRA Athlete of the Year 
  • 2002:  Silver medal - IWRF World Championships 
  • 2000:  Gold medal - Paralympic Games, Sydney, Australia
  • 1999:  Gold medal - World Wheelchair Games, Christchurch, New Zealand
  • 1998:  Gold medal, 200m (WR); Silver medal, 100m; Bronze medal, 400m - World Wheelchair Games

2008 U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team
Lakeshore Foundation has been the home of the U.S. wheelchair rugby team since 2002 and has found a real niche here in Alabama. As documented in the Academy Award nominated film, Murderball, the U.S. was heavily favored heading into the 2004 Paralympic Games, but was upset by Canada in the semifinals and the U.S. then went on to win the bronze medal. The team regained its international status in 2006, going 17-0 en route to the gold medal at the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships that year. The team spent 2007 developing a number of up-and-coming players and the coaching staff was faced with the difficult task of narrowing this talented group down to the 11 athletes that will represent the U.S. in Beijing. While a handful of individual sport athletes have already stamped their tickets to China, wheelchair rugby is the first team that has been nominated. The U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team selection camp was held at Lakeshore Foundation, December 13-16, 2007. Two local athletes, Bryan Kirkland and Joel Wilmoth, were chosen to represent the U.S. in Beijing.

Courtesy U.S. Paralympics