Mark Zupan (athlete)
Mark Zupan | |
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 Zupan at the SXSW 20X2, March 16, 2009 | |
| Born | 20 May 1975 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
Mark Zupan (born May 20, 1975) is a wheelchair rugby player and the captain of the United States wheelchair rugby team which competed in the Paralympic Games in 2004. He is best known for his appearance in the 2005 film Murderball. Zupan was also a part of the 2008 United States gold winning team at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
Early life
Zupan was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Thomas and Linda Zupan. He played varsity football and soccer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, earning him a scholarship to Florida Atlantic University.
Paralyzing accident
After a soccer game on October 14, 1993, Zupan got drunk with teammates at a bar and then crawled into the back of friend Chris Igoe's truck to sleep. Some time later Igoe left the bar unaware that Zupan was asleep in the back. Driving drunk, Igoe spun out and Zupan was thrown from the pickup bed, over a fence, and into a canal, where he held onto a branch for 14 hours until being discovered by a passerby.[1] He went into hypothermia and became paralyzed as a result of the accident. Zupan has incomplete quadriplegia and is able to walk for short distances with crutches.[2]
Wheelchair rugby career
After his accident, Zupan graduated from Georgia Tech, became a two-time quad rugby national champion, the 2004 quad rugby player of the year. He was a member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team at the 2004 Summer Paralympics, and the gold medal-winning team at the 2008 Games. He is a resident of Austin, Texas.
When asked if he would "turn back the clock on that day", Zupan answered "No, I don't think so. My injury has led me to opportunities and experiences and friendships I would never have had before. And it has taught me about myself. In some ways, it's the best thing that ever happened to me."
Media personality
Zupan was featured as a customer in TLC's Miami Ink during the first season. Parts of his documentary were shown as background information.
He was depicted in an episode of the claymation series Celebrity Deathmatch in a match against Chris Pontius; he won.
In August 2007, Zupan's team "Superman's Crip-Tonite" placed second in Red Bull Flugtag event in Austin, Texas. For their efforts they won a $3,000 prize. Zupan's Flugtag adventure was chronicled in an ESPN.com story by writer Mary Buckheit.
He was also in the movie Jackass Number Two, in a skit called "Lake Jump", where his wheelchair was rigged up with carbon dioxide tanks and pushed off a ramp by Chris Pontius. Before taking off, the tanks triggered, launching him off of the ramp and into the lake.
Zupan was featured in a 2008 episode of 30 Days in which former NFL athlete Ray Crockett used a wheelchair for 30 days and at one point attempted to play wheelchair rugby.
In the second season of the television show Friday Night Lights, Zupan appeared briefly in the episode "Bad Ideas" as Steve, a friend who accompanies character Jason Street to a doctor appointment.
In the first season of Nitro Circus, he made a brief appearance in episode 11. He was seen being taped to a sled and rode down a hill before crashing.
Bibliography
- Zupan's autobiography GIMP : When Life Deals You a Crappy Hand, You Can Fold—or You Can Play (ISBN 0-06-112768-X) was published by HarperCollins on October 17, 2006.
Filmography
Television
- Live with Regis and Kelly (1 episode, 2005)
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1 episode, 2005)
- The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (1 episode, 2005)
- Larry King Live (1 episode, 2005)
- Miami Ink (1 episode, 2005)
- Friday Night Lights (1 episode, 2007)
- 30 Days (1 episode, 2008)
- Nitro Circus (2 episodes, 2009)
- 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die (1 episode, 2011)
Films
- Murderball (2005)
- Jackass Number Two (2006)
- Jackass 3D (2010)
- Jackass 3.5 (2011)
Further reading
- Buckheit, Mary. "Murderball's Mark Zupan Takes Flight at Flugtag", ESPN.com. Sept. 6, 2007.
- Freydkin, Donna. "From Murderball to reluctant movie star", USA Today. July 7, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2005.
- "Mark Zupan Q&A", Washington Post. July 22, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2005. (transcript)
- "Troopers Overlook Man Hurt In Wreck", Miami Herald. October 16, 1993.
References
- ^ Troopers Overlook Man Hurt In Wreck, October 16, 1993, Miami Herald
- ^ Gimp: When Life Deals You a Crappy Hand, You Can Fold -or You Can Play - ISBN 978-0-06-112768-7
External links
- Mark Zupan - Profile at UsParalympics.org
- Mark Zupan's Murderball Journal from 2005, at MTV.com
- Mark Zupan on Charlie Rose
- Mark Zupan at IMDb
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1975 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Cleveland
- Sportspeople from Austin, Texas
- American wheelchair rugby players
- Florida Atlantic Owls athletes
- People with tetraplegia
- American disabled sportspeople
- Paralympic wheelchair rugby players for the United States
- Wheelchair rugby players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
- Wheelchair rugby players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States
- Paralympic gold medalists for the United States
- Georgia Tech alumni
- Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic medalists in wheelchair rugby
- Wheelchair users