Pa. man revs up racing career


2000 accident fails to stop motorcyclist

By MIRZA ZUKIC

The Indiana Gazette

INDIANA, Pa.

Next time you spot someone in a wheelchair, throw out the common stereotype of a helpless individual and think of Shane Shipley.

That’s what he wants, maybe even more than a gold medal at next month’s Summer X Games.

A 38-year-old Indiana, Pa., resident and former professional motocross racer, Shipley last month qualified for X Games 16, an annual four-day competition in extreme action sports in Los Angeles from July 29 to Aug. 1.

Dependent on a wheelchair since 2000, Shipley will compete in the Super X Adaptive category of the Moto X discipline.

“Hopefully, it’s a way to inspire other people that may not only be in a wheelchair, but have any physical disability, to not just settle,” Shipley said. “There are so many people who give up. ... I hope people say, ‘I don’t want to settle for being the guy in the wheelchair.’”

“But I also want people to see me as an X Games athlete because I train hard. When I’m out in public, I know people see me as the ‘guy in the wheelchair.’ Not the guy with black hair, or big arms. It’s the wheelchair. It’s what defines me. I want people to notice me for more than the wheelchair.”

Those closest to him know there is a lot more to Shipley than his wheelchair.

“He’s pretty amazing,” said 16-year-old Noah Vislosky. “He’s got a job. He goes to the gym, then goes to train at the track. You wouldn’t believe what he can do. He probably does more than the average person. If you just saw him sitting in his truck or whatever, you’d never know he was in a wheelchair. You won’t ever hear him complaining about his situation.”

Vislosky, an aspiring motocross rider and a junior-to-be at Indiana High School, accompanies Shipley to all the races and assists with loading and unloading equipment and helping him get on and off the bike.

Shipley’s life and career were turned upside down 10 years ago when he was in a devastating motocross accident.

At the time, the New Lexington, Ohio, native was at the peak of his career and in his third season as a professional rider.

But in 2000, he suffered a crippling injury during a training session as he attempted to land a triple, a jump that involves clearing three equally spaced ramps.

The desired result is to land on the downside of the farthest ramp. Shipley came up short.

“I landed on top of the third one,” he said, “and the impact of it basically compressed my back so much that it blew my first vertebrae, which went into my spinal cord and caused the spinal-cord injury.”

Shipley spent a week at Allegheny General Hospital, then endured an arduous monthlong stay at a rehab hospital.

Once he returned home, it didn’t take long for Shipley to find a way to be active. He began lifting weights while trying to suppress his thoughts of motocross.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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