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SYDNEY, Australia - Dr. Brad Cobb, a Cherokee

Dr. Brad Cobb

Nation of Oklahoma tribal member from Bartlesville, won a bronze medal representing the United States in the Paralympics in Sydney, Australia.

Cobb nearly lost his life in a car wreck three years ago. His left leg was amputated at the hip and he was hospitalized for more than three months. When he was released, Cobb began to look for ways to exercise and compete. A former member of the University of Kansas track team, Cobb found bicycling to be the closest thing to running he could do, so the former member of the University of Kansas track team threw himself into the sport.

In just three years, Cobb has ascended to the top of the cycling world. Cobb told Indian Country Today: "The way I look at it is that we are all handicapped. Mine is just more visible. The problem with more able-bodied people is that they just don’t see their handicaps. The ultimate goal in life is not to win, but to keep getting up. What something like this does is, we live in this gray area, we want to rationalize everything. When something like this happens, and there is no gray, it’s black and white.

"You can sit on the couch and eat potato chips and watch reruns of ‘Hogan’s Heroes’, or you can get up and do something. There is no in between. It really puts things into sharp focus."

Principal Chief Chad Smith, Deputy Chief Hastings Shade and the Cherokee Nation tribal council helped sponsor Cobb’s trip to Australia.

"His incredible story is a perfect example of the Cherokee legacy," Smith said. "Like the Cherokee Nation, Dr. Cobb has faced adversity, survived, adapted, prospered and excelled. We applaud his accomplishments."