NEW YORK — Jack Wallace had an extra incentive to go for the gold at the 2018 Paralympics in South Korea.
Then a sophomore at The College of New Jersey, Wallace was still living at home in Franklin Lakes. His parents promised he could get a dog if the U.S. sled hockey team won.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Americans did bring home gold, and a month later, Wallace got a golden retriever named Charlie. He also got a special way to store the medal: a pair of socks decorated with pictures of Charlie. It was a Christmas gift from his sister, Colleen.
Four years later in Beijing, Team USA did it again. And Wallace had to figure out how to store a second gold medal. That's now in a cotton string bag that was part of Team USA's official gear distribution.
The well-padded medals, and Wallace's championship rings, are all stored in a safe. But he occasionally gets a chance to show them off, like at the airport in Nashville as he made his way to the recent Team USA Media Summit in New York City.
Franklin Lakes native son Jack Wallace displays gold medals he won as member of USA Paralympic games in Bejiing in 2022 and PyeongChang in 2018.A familiar Delta gate agent, who had pestered Wallace to see the medals on every trip, finally got his chance to hold them. Wallace said the furor "paused the whole bag-checking process for everybody else."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"People definitely appreciate it. That's the coolest part of having them," the 27-year-old added. "It's a cool thing to win, obviously a great moment, but being able to share it with other people is great."
Team USA is trying to win its unprecedented fifth straight sled hockey gold medal at the 2026 Paralympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, on a team with strong New Jersey ties. Josh Pauls of Green Brook, the longtime captain, has been part of all four wins. Wallace has two golds, Princeton University alumnus Declan Farmer three.
USA Hockey will formally announce the 2026 roster in early January. Thanks to Farmer, the sled team is already planning a residency in Boulder, Colorado before heading to Italy, similar to what the guys did in Chicago in 2018 and Nashville in 2022.
"There's a certain Jersey attitude we grew up with, a 'don't-give-a-F' attitude we have," said Wallace, a 6-foot-3 defenseman. "We get a lot of hate for I don't know what reason. But you grow up with that little chip on your shoulder. Carrying that through my athletic career has really helped me not dealing with any BS, and always willing to push through and fight through it."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJack Wallace's unexpected transition to sled hockey
BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 06: Jack Wallace #8 of Team United States looks to shoot in the first period against Team South Korea during the Group A preliminary round game on day two of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at the National Indoor Stadium on March 06, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Wallace played stand-up hockey, football and several other sports while growing up in Bergen County. At age 10, he was waterskiing with his sister on Lake George when he was dragged under the boat. The propeller shredded Wallace's right leg, which had to be amputated above the knee.
Wallace recalled watching American swimmer Michael Phelps dominate the 2008 Olympics on television from his hospital bed after amputation. But he didn't know about the Paralympics then, or that he could have watched it on TV just a couple of weeks later.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementInstead, Wallace learned about sled hockey the summer after his accident. He was attending Camp No Limits, a gathering for kids with limb loss, when a volunteer asked his favorite sport.
The family found the Woodbridge Warriors sled team where Wallace "immediately fell in love again," he said. Wallace was in his early teens — young enough to necessitate a waiver from the league — when he started playing for the New Jersey Freeze alongside adult teammates.
Sled hockey is similar to the stand-up game, but each player has two sticks. One end is spiked, and used for momentum, while the other has a traditional blade to play the puck.
Since having Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in 2021, Wallace has become more comfortable playing the puck with both hands, which he called "a cheat code."
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"I consider him my equal on the ice, for sure, and he's better than me in a lot of ways," said Farmer, 28, a bilateral amputee from Tampa, Florida, who holds Team USA's all-time records for career goals, assists and points.
"I really appreciate him for how much work he's put in and how committed he is to the team and the sport. That makes me better."
What's next for Jack Wallace?
Wallace is trying to attract more fans —and potential players — to sled hockey. His TikTok videos explaining the basics of the sport have more than 3 million views combined. Wallace was also part of a Team USA delegation that lit the Empire State Building on Oct. 28.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"(Jack) is continuing to grow into himself, and being that leader that people look to on the national team," said Malik Jones, 22, who was part of the 2022 gold-medal team. "He's an incredible athlete, super tall, long arms, super big. A lot of people look up to him. I think he's just falling into that role of being one of the leaders on the team that people can go to."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Sled hockey player Jack Wallace speaks to the media during the Team USA Media Summit at Javits Center on October 29, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)But Wallace has bigger personal goals. He wants to compete in paracanoe at the next summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He finished eight-thousandths of a second short of qualifying for Paris last year, after flying from the first two games of the Para Ice Hockey World Championships in Calgary to the 2024 ParaCanoe World Championships in Hungary.
Wallace got back on a plane to Canada for the gold-medal sled hockey game, in which Team USA lost, 2-1, to the hosts.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Americans and Canadians are likely set for a rematch in the Paralympics final on March 15. But China and Czechia have been coming on strong.
A fifth straight gold medal is certainly not guaranteed.
"(Sled hockey) has come a long way," Wallace said. "There's definitely a little more responsibility on my shoulders as one of the veterans on the team who's definitely going to be playing a lot of minutes. I feel that responsibility. I kind of cherish it at the same time. It's an honor to have that responsibility. It makes me more excited, and it makes me delve into my preparation even more. It makes me train harder, knowing that's going to be on my shoulders. It makes me more excited to get over there."
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Jack Wallace of NJ hunts third 2026 Paralympics gold in sled hockey
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