4:8 Athletics
Hello, my name is Jacob "TEN20" Thompson and I have a rare disease called Friedreich's Ataxia. FA has been slowly taking away my physical abilities for my whole life. I run an organization to inspire people to persevere through their challenges and pursue their purpose. I do this as a speaker, author, recording artist, podcaster, content creator, rare disease advocate, and most recently, a para-athlete. This campaign specifically focuses on the para-athlete side of my work; to find out more about the other aspects, visit my website and my NHF Project.
Words can't describe how life-giving and transformational it has been for me to discover para-athletics; it has truly given me back a part of myself that I thought was long lost. I have been training 5 or 6 days a week for over a year now with the goal of making the US National Paracycling Team. I more recently discovered that there is also a US National Para-climbing team and am beginning to pursue this as well.
Whether or not I compete in the Paralympics and win a medal is not the point of this pursuit. The point is to inspire people along the way; to help people see what it means to never give up and to keep on dreaming and living life to the fullest. The point is to be a living example of everything I say in my book, speaking, and content. The point is best illustrated by the Bible verse that is my theme verse for my athletic pursuits and the meaning behind the name of this campaign: “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” - 1 Timothy 4:8
This training and competition comes with several financial expenses that I would like to invite family, friends, and supporters to join me in covering. Expenses include but are not limited to training software, competitive licenses, nutritional supplements, specialized equipment rental, travel to events, a racing bike, a professional bike fit, and various other equipment needs.
Contributions to this campaign are tax-deductible and receipted through the New Horizons Foundation.
Project Manager
