Houston, Texas — Paralympian Mark Barr’s life has revolved around the sport since the beginning. He started swimming when he was only four years old, then started playing soccer and baseball. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he started experiencing knee pain and received a diagnosis he didn’t see coming.
“At age 14, I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma — bone cancer,” Barr said.
He underwent nearly a year of chemotherapy, but an MRI showed that the tumor had spread aggressively and amputation was the only option.
“Sitting in the pre-operative room with my parents was the lowest in the entire cancer experience,” Barr said.
After his amputation, it was a nurse in the recovery room who gave him hope and helped him realize that there was life after amputation. She herself was an amputee and a Paralympic swimmer.
“I consider her like an angel,” Barr said. “It was purposely placed there to help me get through this difficult time.”
Barr returned to the pool as soon as he was able, and in 2004, he qualified for the Athens Summer Paralympics. That same year, he began college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he competed on the swimming team. At the 2006 World Championships in Athletics, Barr finished second in the 100-fly class. He also competed in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing before taking up new challenge training for triathlons.
“I was hooked.” Bar said. “Swim, bike, run, mixing systems. I love the challenge of that. It was something, I was like, and this is my new identity. I’m going to do a triathlon.” At that point, Barr had been an amputee for eight years and had never run. He did not have a running prosthesis because many insurance companies do not cover sports prosthetics. I turned to catapult team, a Houston nonprofit that raises money for disabled athletes and helps them compete in endurance sports. Once he got a new prosthesis, he learned to run again.
“Having other athletes with Team Catapult, to guide you through this and teach you first-hand is invaluable,” said Barr, who has become a huge supporter of Team Catapults’ mission. Helps guide new athletes within the group.
Barr returned to the US Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, competing for the first time as a semi-athlete. In 2018, he had the best year of his career in triathlon. He went undefeated on the circuit of the Paratriathlon World Series, including winning the World Championships in Australia. Barr went on to win the ESPY Award in 2019 for “Best Male Athlete with a Disability”.
His journey with cancer also inspired him to go to nursing school.
“Nursing is something I have always wanted to pursue with my background as a camper and my experience in cancer treatment,” Barr said.
He worked as a trauma intensive care unit nurse for seven years before returning to school to become a certified nurse anesthetist. He recently graduated and will be starting a new job this fall. Barr is now recovering from a meniscus injury, but hopes to be back on the track soon and hopes to qualify for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
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