Marco De La Rosa: A Vet, a Hero, and a Paralympian
Olympic hopeful American para shooter, Marco De La Rosa, poses for a photo, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in New York. AP Photo / Andres Kudacki
The 2024 Paralympics are underway in Paris. Marco De La Rosa, originally from Chicago, now based in San Antonio, Texas is a para-shooter who competes professionally in the 10-meter Air Pistol category.
He will make his second Paralympic appearance at the 2024 games after previously competing in the Rio 2016 games.
He joined the Marine Corps in 1990 wanting to be a part of Desert Storm and in 1993, he intervened in a hold up of a video store and was shot in the back. After the incident, De La Rosa was paralyzed from the middle of his spine down, and uses a wheelchair to get around. He joins the 21st to talk about his life, how he got into shooting as a sport and his experience in the Paralympics.
A version of this conversation orginally aired on June 28, 2024.
GUEST:
Marco De La Rosa
Paralympian — Men's Para-Shooting