Competitor Spotlight: Ret. Staff Sgt. Gene Calantoc
Within a week of competing at the 2026 Warrior Games in San Antonio, retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gene Calantoc was traveling to Detroit for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The grueling pace didn’t faze him. Competition is one of the main ways he stays active, connected, and focused since losing his leg in 2020. “I think if I don’t do it, I’ll just be in a little circle, in a dark place,” Gene admits. “So that’s the reason why I keep competing.”
That simple, fierce resolve drove him to Walt Disney World for his first Warrior Games in 2024. What began as personal rehabilitation was quickly transformed into a year-round mission. Gene didn’t just return to sports; he redefined his life through them. He joined the ParaSport Spurs wheelchair basketball team, played in the wheelchair softball World Series, and even helped launch a local wheelchair pickleball team.
This journey has become a family triumph. His wife, Miho, remembers the early days of fear – worrying about his physical health, his mental state, and how their family would survive. Today, those fears have been replaced by pride. She watches him compete, travel, and lead. “It gives him a purpose in life,” Miho says. “It’s something that brings him joy.”
That joy has trickled down to their three children, who through their father’s inspiration are all active in sports. Gene now coaches his son’s basketball team, passing on the lessons of discipline and grit. “He’s a role model for the kids as well,” Miho said. “It’s something that also makes me so proud.” While Gene foresees a future in coaching other adaptive competitors, today he is still very much in the game with his eyes set on next level competitions: the 2027 Invictus Games and the Paralympics.
Yet, Gene’s most profound transformation isn’t measured in medals, but in the community he has built. Once a newcomer looking for hope, he is now a mentor and helps pull others out of their own “dark places,” proving that an injury is not the end of the journey, merely a new beginning.
The Warrior Games ignited the spirit within Gene and thousands of other wounded, ill, and injured competitors, providing them with a united community, unbreakable family bonds, and continued purpose.
By Vernishia R. Vaughn
