WILLIAMSBURG — Williamsburg resident and U.S. Army National Guard Veteran Amanda Seward recently participated in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games and has hopes to do so at the 2026 Paralympics.
Seward, originally from Indiana, joined the Army in 2011 and served until 2021. She deployed twice, in Afghanistan in 2013 and 2018 in Kabul.
Seward lost her right leg after a car lost control on icy roads and crushed her against her own parked vehicle. She was recruiting future Army Guardsman at the time of the accident in April 2019.
The accident left her a below-the-knee amputee. Over the course of two years, she participated in a variety of therapies and treatments and moved out to Virginia to take some time for herself. A discussion with her prosthetists led to the realization they would need to amputate higher to improve Seward’s quality of life. In May of 2022, she went back to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to have the surgery performed, becoming a knee disarticulate amputee.
Following the surgery, Seward began snowboarding and fell in love with it. Since then, she’s started training for the 2026 Paralympics. In November she’ll go to classify and will be able to compete in Paralympic-sanctioned events in hopes of being picked for the 2026 Paralympic team.
Athletics are nothing new — Seward has always loved being active, running cross country in both junior high and high school. She finds that the speed she experiences while snowboarding freeing — like she isn’t just running, but flying.
Recently Seward participated in cycling at the 43rd National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG) in New Orleans, earning a gold medal. She also participated in Softball (Silver) and Powerlifting (Bronze). The Wheelchair Games are co-presented by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Paralyzed Veterans of America, with this year’s local host Southeast Louisiana Veteran Health Care System.
“What made me really happy, more so than the gold, was that I beat [the time of] their third in men’s open winner,” said Seward. “So it makes me really proud that I’m here to play with the boys.”
“Women, we are very tough on ourselves and then when we’re differently-abled, because life happened to us we start to really beat ourselves up,” Seward explains. “I want women to know that they are seen. I want women to know that they are heard and they are valued. Don’t let someone dim your light, I want you to shine because you shine so bright.”
Seward competed in last year’s games, receiving two medals. She gave one of her medals to a young girl as a memento. Seward says the win itself was all she wanted.
“Everyone has demons, but you don’t have to fight them on your own,” said Seward. “Some days those demons are going to get loud, but we have so many amazing people around us, and then you’ll realize you’re not alone.”
Seward offers this advice to anyone interested in getting into the wheelchair games:
“Getting out to these games is going to be a lot more beneficial than you realize at the time,” she says. “Are you going to be angry? Absolutely. Are we all going to understand that? Absolutely. And if you have a freak out we’re not going to look at you like you’re a circus freak, we’re going to be like, OK, we understand and we’re going to start talking what do we need to do to help you. How can we help you feel better and get back to a center of calm?”
“‘Cause when you’re surrounded by other military individuals and you really start to talk to them, we’re all on the same level,” she added. “We just want you to be seen and know that, hey as much as people like to stare at you it’s not the same, having us around you —you feel normal again.”
