Tyler Merren

Started: He began playing goalball in 1999 at age 15 at a sports education camp hosted by the US Association of Blind Athletes at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI, United States of America. (Athlete, 01 Apr 2016; teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2016) Reason: "I enjoy the intensity and the full body strength and power required." (Athlete, 01 Apr 2016) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (nbcsports.com, 03 Oct 2023) Awards: He received the 2022 Community Champions Award from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee in recognition of his work with the United States Association of Blind Athletes [USABA]. (Facebook profile, 11 Apr 2023; teamusa.com, 10 Apr 2023) In 2017 he was presented with the Key to the City of Coral Springs in Florida, United States of America, after he won silver at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (nbcsports.com, 03 Oct 2023) He was named Best Offensive Player at the 2012 National Championships in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America. (tylermerren.com, 09 Jun 2019) Additional Info: RETIREMENT AND RETURN He retired from competitive goalball for a short period following the 2016 Paralympic Games but he was part of the US men's team that competed at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. His aim for Paris 2024 is to win gold, and he has not ruled out trying to make the team for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. "I do a pretty good job of taking care of myself, but I'm seeing a lot more chronic things crop up. I think I would make a run for Paris, but what would I do after that? The interesting thing about that question is that the 2028 Games are going to be in the United States, in Los Angeles. They're at home. So, our team automatically qualifies for LA 2028. Would I be able to be competitive all the way through 2028 at the age of about 44 years old? I don't know, I would like to think that I could. I'd like to think that it'd be great to compete in front of my family and friends, not many of them have been able to be there and see me compete at the international level because I'm usually off in eastern Europe or somewhere in Asia. There's something very beautiful and symmetrical about potentially retiring after being competitive in front of a home crowd, but only time will tell." (nbcsports.com, 03 Oct 2023) BUSINESS OWNER He is the founder of ReVision Training. The company has developed an app for people to use for fitness training, and also incorporates motivational speaking. Part of the funding to develop the app was secured when Merren won the Holman Prize for Blind Ambition from LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which includes 25,000 USD in funding. "[The training programme is] specifically designed to be accessible for sighted and visually impaired alike. It's an audio-based fitness programme. There are lessons, audio workouts, and fitness plans, and other tools to improve fitness, all built in an accessible way. So that takes up a lot of my time and energy. It's a tremendous project, but very rewarding as well." (nbcsports.com, 03 Oct 2023; wzzm13.com, 13 Apr 2023; ibsasport.org, 20 Aug 2020) OTHER ACTIVITIES He has served as a United States Association of Blind Athletes [USABA] sport ambassador. "It's a programme that is designed to help mentor and reach out to athletes in this community. The mission of the United States Association of Blind Athletes is to empower and improve the quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired through sport and activity." (Facebook profile, 03 May 2024; usaba.org, 02 May 2024; wzzm13.com, 13 Apr 2023)