David Wagner

David Wagner became a quadriplegic at age 21 when he suffered a spinal cord injury attempting to jump over a wave in Redondo Beach, California. He took a year off from college to recover and began playing table tennis at Walla Walla University as a part of his rehabilitation upon returning to school. Two years later he pursued table tennis as less of a passion and more of a career, winning the national championship in table tennis three years in a row from 1997 to 1999. In 1999 he attended a wheelchair tennis training camp set up by the top-ranked quadriplegic tennis player in the world. By 2002 he had won three Paralympic Gold Medals in tennis and taken over the title of being the top-ranked player in the world. Wagner has maintained his title of being the No. 1 ranked wheel chair tennis player for over a decade and remains the top player in the world to this day.