Army veteran Mico Morin entered the 30th National Veterans Wheelchair Games earlier this month in Colorado with no expectations other than to have fun with his friends.

“I was a big novice,” Morin said. “I did not expect anything. I just said, ‘I will go there and fall on my face.’ ”

Morin, though, left the five-day event with two gold medals and one bronze.

“My first medal was on the first day of the events,” said Morin, a resident of Robin Hill Farm on Summer Street in Peterborough.

He finished the wheelchair slalom course in 14 minutes and 51 seconds, taking the bronze medal. The obstacle course, with its different features and ramps creating several different levels competitors had to climb and negotiate, was the toughest event for Morin. He said his legs, which he generally uses to move his wheelchair, were taped to his chair for the event.

“I had to use both my hands.”

He won his first gold medal of the games in stick bowling.

“That is something I have never done,” he said.

When Morin was signing up for events, a coordinator suggested he sign up for ramp bowling, but Morin thought that would be too easy for him.

“I told her, ‘I will not do ramp bowling. I’ll do something more challenging,’ so she brought out a stick and ball and I tried it and fell right in love with it,” Morin said.

His second gold medal was for the discus. His best out of three throws was 41.3 feet, he said.

Morin, 28, grew up in North Turner, Maine, and graduated from high school in 2001. After 9/11, he joined the U.S. Army and was deployed to Iraq. “I said, ‘I’ll go over there and kick some,’ ” he said.

His life changed dramatically in November of 2004. He was home on leave when he was in a car accident. Due to complications during surgery following the crash, Morin suffered a traumatic brain injury and he is still in the process of relearning how to walk.

Morin said his wheelchair is just a tool that is part of his recovery. “I’ll use it for now,” he said. “This is a stepping stone in my recovery.”

The Wheelchair Games can be seen as part of that recovery.

Morin said he got involved in the games because of his friend Ellen Katez of Keene. The two are both members of the Handicapped New England Sports Association and enjoy skiing together.

“I have a lot of friends that I ski with and we pal around often,” said Morin.
The 30th National Veterans Wheelchair Games took place in Denver from July 4 to July 9 with most of the events taking place at the city’s convention center.

“They were awesome to be a part of,” Morin said of the games. “I like how Ellen put it, she said that Denver has become a ‘wheelchair heaven.’ ”

For Morin it was even more than that because he was with his fellow veterans.

“It’s all the veterans. They are a family and we all have a lot of fun. I was very glad to be a part of it,” he said. “When I was doing the slalom there were 600 other veterans there and all of them were cheering for me and that was totally awesome.”

Morin plans to eventually walk without assistance, he said. “It’s something I’m constantly working on.”

He has lived at Robin Hill Farm since October 2007 and remains active by skiing in the winter and water skiing in the summer with the use of adaptive equipment. He also volunteers two days a week at Summerhill Assisted Living. On Mondays he passes out the mail and on Thursdays he separates the recycling.

“It’s a lot of fun to do that,” Morin said of his volunteer work.

Morin said he plans to attend the wheelchair games in Pittsburgh, Pa., next year.
“I have not stopped. I just keep on enjoying myself as much as I can, have fun and work hard.”