The Challenge star Nelson Thomas had his right foot amputated in March 2024 after injuries he sustained in a devastating car accident a year prior, but he says that after taking 2024 to recover and heal, he's feeling better than ever and he's not going to let the amputation stop him from competing.
But now, instead of setting his sights on another season of The Challenge, Nelson Thomas is dreaming bigger and says he wants to compete in the 2028 Paralympic Games.
The Challenge star Nelson Thomas has documented his recovery journey on social media
A year after his accident in March 2023, Nelson Thomas had his right foot amputated and has spent the last 10 months dedicating his Instagram account to featuring himself focusing on his recovery and training with his new prosthetic on.
Although his training videos are already impressive on their own, the plans Nelson Thomas has shared for the future are even more impressive. According to an interview Nelson Thomas did with PEOPLE, his next dream is to compete in the Paralympic Games in 2028.
"The day I cut off my foot, man, I never looked back. And I've been the happiest man ever since," he told the publication and said they he felt like this was his "second chance" and that he was meant to be inspiring people by sharing his own journey following his amputation.
Nelson Thomas shared that he's connected with the Adaptive Training Foundation and moved to Dallas, Texas from his home in Austin, Texas in order to be closer to the ATF and be able to train alongside them more in order to overcome the mental and physical struggles he admits that he's been feeling and get back to peak physical condition.
"Having a strong community around you, people that believed in you, it really does a lot for a person," he said of training with the ATF. The Adaptive Training Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps athletes with injuries and disabilities rehabilitate after injuries and train with their disability.
Nelson Thomas shares his plans to join the 2028 Paralympic Games
According to Nelson Thomas, moving to Dallas to train with the ATF isn't just because he wanted to learn to regain his strength and adapt to life with his prosthetic. Although he doesn't deny that having the community of fellow disabled athletes has helped to motivate him to do better, he says that he has his sights set on a serious athletic goal.
"Another reason why I moved to Dallas is because I'll be competing in the Paralympics in [Los Angeles,] California in 2028. I'll be doing the long jump and I'll also be doing the 200[m]," he shared with PEOPLE.
Nelson Thomas says that he's "chasing the dream" of making it to the Paralympic Games as a runner and in the long jump and based on the videos of his training he's shared on his Instagram account, it looks like he's taking his training journey seriously.
But is the 2028 Paralympic Games the only thing on the horizon for Nelson Thomas?
Will Nelson Thomas be going back to The Challenge?
According to Nelson Thomas, he still has "unfinished business" on The Challenge, but it's not where his focus is right now.
"A lot of people want me to go back on The Challenge and be the first below-the-knee amputee," he told PEOPLE and said that he wants to make sure people know that he's not working so hard on his training in order to be physically ready to go back to The Challenge.
Still, that doesn't mean that he's ruling it out entirely. "But if I ever had the opportunity and [host TJ Lavin] gives me that phone call, hell yeah I'm picking up. I know I have what it takes to win. I know I was very, very close."
According to Nelson Thomas, he feels like he has "unfinished business" on The Challenge and while he was watching season 40 of the competition series, he felt like he "should have been there" but says that he feels like he took life before his accident for granted and that one thing he's taken away from his amputation is to appreciate every opportunity he's given.
"It's sad because we take things for granted until we lose them. But trust me, once you get it back, I ain't never letting go and I'm holding tight as hell. And that's just the truth," he told PEOPLE.