Meet Adaptive Athlete: Erik Mossberg

Erik Mossberg grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota where he was drawn to sports like basketball, soccer, and volleyball because of the team camaraderie and the accountability they required. He graduated high school and enlisted in the United States Army where he served as an infantryman, deploying to Iraq multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

 

During a deployment to Iraq in 2010 Erik was thrown off vehicle during a overseas training exercise and suffered a severe injury to his knee and calf, losing 60% of blood flow to his foot. Over the next few years he experienced 27 severe blood clots from the injury which resulted into them spreading to his lungs and heart. He was medically retired in 2019. Following retirement he spent a year at the Mayo Clinic trying to salvage his limb, later resulting in amputation in 2020.

 

After the amputation, Erik has been pursuing Tactical Games and adaptive sports at the competitive level and hopes to continue working toward his goals of competing at the Warrior Games and Tactical Games. He also has his sights set on the US Paralympic Snowboard team. He wants to use his time at ATF to challenge himself physically and learn how to better use his prosthetic due to lack of physical therapy during Covid. Additionally he wants to better himself as a husband and father of three and show his kids that they can overcome anything.