RICHMOND, Va. — Each year at the RVA Sports Awards, we honor one local athlete who has overcome more obstacles than most in their pursuit of athletic achievement. The roster of those with this honor is as impressive as you might imagine, and it grows by one this year.
We first introduced you to Antoine Craig five years ago, and since then he has not stopped, on or off the field, in both his love of competition and his desire to help others find the same opportunities.
In 2020, Craig was in training for the delayed Pan Olympic Games of 2021.
Antoine is nearly completely blind due to retinitis pigmentosa.
For everything that he's lost without his sight, he's gained more in discovering that he's a pretty good athlete, regardless of any perceived disability.
“Once I crossed the finish line, it was a feeling of accomplishment that I wasn't getting at that time; it just felt like, ‘OK, this feels great,’” Craig said.
Craig has won 6 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze medal in international competition.
If sprinting wasn't enough, two years later, we found him trying out for the U.S. national blind soccer team.
“It took me a lot of work to actually learn how to slow down and focus more on quickness instead of speed,” he said. “I just had to work on a lot, like, kind of change my track drills a little bit to more agility drills.”
Last year, Antoine helped that squad to a pair of top-4 finishes in international competition.
He was named the USATF Para Track and Field Athlete of the Year from Virginia in 2024, and was honored at last year's Aspire Awards presented by the American Association of Adaptive Sports Programs.
Off the field, Antoine has his master's degree in mental health counseling, has founded Blind Soccer Nation, which has conducted over 20 clinics throughout the area, and has donated hundreds of specialized soccer balls to visually impaired youth.
He still maintains the positive attitude and determination we first found back in 2020.
“Anything is possible. You just have to allow yourself to believe it, and if you can believe it, you can achieve it,” he said.
Antoine is one of the representatives on the Team USA Athletes Council, and he has his own counseling service.
He will also be featured in a commercial with Blind Soccer Nation that will be shown during this year's World Cup.
Antoine will be honored at this year's RVA Sports Awards, which will now be on Sunday, March 1, at the Altria Theater. Tickets are still available.
Watch for Lane Casadonte's features on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com. If you know someone Lane should profile, email him beyondtheroster@wtvr.com.
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