CONGRATULATIONS JR SALZMAN!
2009 ESPN MEN’S LOG-ROLLING CHAMPION!
J. R. Salzman, who lost an arm in Iraq, with his sister after winning his seventh logrolling title. (The New York Times)
JR Salzman, the “Lumberjack in the Desert” blogger, was the ESPN Outdoor Sportsman of the Year back in 2005.
Then he went to Iraq.
JR lost his arm in an IED attack.
This week he came back and won his 7th ESPN Logrolling Championship.
FOX 21 reported:
People came from across the country to watch at the 50th annual Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward. Sunday was the finals, and a wounded veteran was in the competition.
It’s an international world class competition. “Beautiful day, you couldn’t beat the crowd, full of energy,” said Andy McNamer. “Wonderful way to spend an afternoon,” said Alan Johnson of Duluth. At the lumberjack bowl in Hayward, top competitors in the world of timber sports came together to compete in sawing and chopping events, log rolling, the boom run and speed climbing. “That’s probably the most exciting, I didn’t know they came down that fast,” said Johnson.
This year, wounded Iraq War Veteran JR Salzman came back to compete and he made it to the finals. “Regardless of my injuries, I can still log roll, I can still win, I can still accomplish things and I’m alive, I’m still here, I’m going to enjoy life,” said Salzman. It was a close competition between Salzman and Jaime Fischer as they went head to head but Salzman pulled through and became this year’s Men’s Log Rolling World Champion.
“Entirely overwhelming and on top of everything I’ve gone through as well, it’s just huge, it’s great to be back on top and it’s such a release to win,” said Salzman. It’s his 7th world title and an unforgettable day as well for Salzman’s wife Josie. “It was so amazing! To see him win a world title, such a short period after being injured is just phenomenal, it’s such a great feeling.”
Thanks Mary Ann in Germany for the Tip!
I asked JR back in May 2007 after his injury if he would ever logroll again:
He told me he still had a few championships to win.
He just got one.
Previously:
Lumberjack Down But Not Out
An Interview With JR Salzman: ESPN “Outdoor Sportsman of the Year” & American Hero
