Veterans compete in Philadelphia Wheelchair Games

At 6-feet-9-inches tall, Anthony Pone, of Philadelphia, has the build of a basketball player.

And while on the court Tuesday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, he owned his opponents.

And he did it from a wheelchair.

“Playing this game makes me feel alive,” he said.

Pone, who lost his right leg in a car accident, is a volunteer at the 34th National Veterans Wheelchair Games, which runs through Aug. 17. The event features veterans, who are confined to wheelchairs, competing against one another in modified versions of basketball, hand cycling, power soccer, and softball, among others.

Pone, who currently plays wheelchair basketball with Thonon Les Bains Chablais Handibasket in France, has been participating in these games since 2006.

“That’s what these games are all about — just realizing that your handicap doesn’t measure you,” Pone said. “What you do after trauma happens [is what matters].”

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