| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Joe Wise |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | May 22, 1993 |
| Height | 5'11 |
| Weight | 165 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Stroke(s) | Freestyle, Breastroke, I.M. |
| Club | Santa Clara Swim Club |
| College team | Loyola Maryland University |
Joe Wise (born May 22, 1993) is a member of the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team and is a 16-time American Record Holder. He competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games and is currently training for Paralympic Games in the 2012 London Summer Olympics.[1][2][3][4]
Wise has been swimming for 10 years total, 7 years in Paralympic swimming.[5][6]
In 2002, at the age of 9, Joe Wise was diagnosed with mitochondrial myopathy - a severe muscular disorder affecting his legs, hips, core muscles and lungs. At the early age of 9, doctors told him and his family he would not live to see the age of 15. In 8th grade, Joe was using a wheel chair, having an extremely hard time walking. After doing a lot of leg exercises to strengthen his muscles, he was once again able to walk on his own. Joe now uses a life support volume ventilator every day which helps him breath because his lungs are so weak.