Jake Schrom

The Backstory:
Jacob Schrom was in a car accident during the summer of his Junior year at Penn State. He was thrown out of the vehicle window landing on his leg due to the brake lining on his truck failing. The truck rolled and stopped pinning his leg, requiring his right leg to amputated above the knee. After seven months of hard work and rehab, he arrived back at Penn State to finish his degree and was introduced to the world of Paralympic sport. Through club sponsorships, he was able to try his at many sports before narrowing his focus on powerlifting. Schrom has been competing since the 2010 PC Powerlifting World Championships, and since has placed in 2014 IPC Powerlifting World Championships ranking 13^th, getting gold at the 2015 IPC Open Americas Championships, and ranking 10^th at the Mexico City 2017 World Para Powerlifting Championships. Schrom has had aspirations to make it to the Paralympics games from the beginning, after 12 years this is still his dream.

Away from lifting:
He is a landscape designer for his family’s business and active in his local church, but most notably he continues to use his story to inspire and encourage others navigating limb loss. He is involved with the Amputee Coalition, is a certified Peer Visitor for new amputees, and occasionally does public speaking engagements.

In their own words:
“I have learned that we reap what we sow. In other words, we get out of life what we put into it.”

“Prior to my accident, I did not know any amputees, and I had no clue what to expect. Meeting with fellow amputees really helped show me a life full of activity is possible. The more I saw people succeeding and being active, the more determined I was to do the same thing and the more hope I had.”

“Life as an amputee, especially if you wear a prosthesis, can be just like an able-bodied person. The only difference for me is I put a leg on in the morning, and I just figure out a way to adapt to whatever I need to do.”

Learn more:
Team USA Page
IPC Page
Penn Live: “Jake Schrom helps new amputees accept limb loss”
Logan University Leaders Made: “Jacob Schrom”
Disabled Powerlifting: “Jacob Schrom Results from 2016-2020”
Open Powerlifting: “Jacob Schom Competition Results”
Jacob Schrom Inc: “About Me”