Coach with cerebral palsy defies athletic odds in pool, CrossFit
Tom Miazga is a former Paralympic swimmer and CrossFit’s ‘Fittest Seated Man on Earth’. Now he is giving back to the sports that gave him so much.
CEDARBURG, Wis. — A Cedarburg man’s athletic ability has made him a champion in two different arenas.
“Swimming is home. Swimming has always been home,” Tom Miazga said.
For Miazga, water is freedom.
“It almost felt like I had this place to call myself normal,” he said.
Miazga was born with cerebral palsy and spends most of his day in a wheelchair.
“I guess I’ve had my moments where people haven’t quite understood that I didn’t really have a choice,” Miazga said. “I’m just who I am. I’ve never known anything different.”
For the 28-year-old Cedarburg native, normal has no limits.
“I never let my disability or the wheelchair be the defining characteristic of who I was.”
