Orange County native closing in on childhood dream of competing in Paralympics – NBC Los Angeles

Clayton Brackett, the Fullerton-born and Irvine-raised athlete, is headed to Paris to fulfill his childhood dream of competing in the Paralympics.

Brackett will be competing in wheelchair rugby, a sport that wasn’t part of his original plan.

“It’s been a really long journey for me personally,” said Brackett. “I definitely had the childhood dream of making the Paralympics as a kid. I thought it was wheelchair basketball.”

The 31-year-old, who now lives in Alabama, spent his earlier years on the hardwood shooting hoops. It wasn’t until someone introduced him to rugby that Brackett never looked back.

“Here I am today playing wheelchair rugby at the highest of stages pretty neat,” said Bracket.

The Paralympian is one of more than two dozen athletes coming from California to represent Team USA in the Paralympics. A journey that has been anything but easy.

At two years old Brackett suffered a spinal cord injury that left him in a wheelchair, but his family says his disability never defined him.

“Clayton to this day – is a person that wants to complete and finish anything he starts,” said his mother, Jennifer Hilborn.

Brackett’s determination has now taken him to his first Paralympic Games, where he and his expanding family will be there cheering him on.

“My wife – who is pregnant is going to be there with her mom as well! We are very excited to bring in a baby boy in January and hopefully getting the gold medal along with it it’s just been an incredible year for me,” said Brackett.

The Paralympics kick off on Aug. 28 and “Clay” as his family calls him, competes against Canada the next day.