James Scharnick had a near-fatal bike accident in 2023 that left him a quadriplegic.
Fast forward two years, and he just achieved a post-accident milestone – competing in the 2025 CrossFit Open.
- Scharnick is a pillar of his gym, Certus CrossFit, in Clovis, CA. Before his accident, he worked as a coach and manager and has been a fixture in his community. He began CrossFit in 2013 with a trainer and weighed 475 pounds. In just ten months, he lost 110 pounds.
From that point on, he was hooked and became a founding member of Certus CrossFit. Scharnick tells people that CrossFit saved his life twice: the first time from extreme obesity and the second from a spinal cord injury that resulted in him becoming a quadriplegic.
What Happened
On June 19, 2023, Scharnick and some friends took their annual mountain biking trip for Father’s Day. They were on the last run of the day, following a trail they had likely ridden four or five times before. However, on the final run, Scharnick came off a small drop and collided head-on with a boulder.
His front tire jackknifed, and he went over the handlebars, sending him headfirst into the mountain. His helmet hit first, but he still managed to herniate multiple discs in his spine. He was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center for emergency surgery.
- “If I didn’t have that over 10 years of training and working CrossFit, I’m sure that accident would have gone a lot differently. I could have easily just broken my neck instead of having herniations, and it could have been a lot different,” Scharnick told Morning Chalk Up in an interview.
The road to recovery was long for Scharnick and his immediate family. Friends and family established a GoFundMe page to help cover medical costs, travel expenses, and lodging for family visits while he was in the hospital. Despite the severity of his injury, Scharnick remained positive during his two-month hospital stay and ensured that everyone knew he was a CrossFitter.
- “I always tell people they have to hear two things from me. My faith is number one. I’m a Christian, and so they would hear about Jesus, and then they would hear about CrossFit, because that was my livelihood,” said Scharnick.
He was often praised for his leg strength and core stability. Scharnick would attribute it to CrossFit.
Getting Back to Certus CrossFit
The CrossFit community promptly stepped in to support Scharnick and his family during this difficult time, driving five hours to the hospital to visit him, caring for his two children, and delivering meals.
- “I coached at the gym for eight or nine years at the time of my accident, and I was able to see how I was able to impact and affect people’s lives firsthand. That was a very humbling time in my life to be able to see what I was able to do,” he adds.
Last year, Scharnick watched the Open announcements from the hospital, and this year, not only was he able to participate in and attend the gym’s Friday Night Lights events, but he has also returned to coaching.
He has spent the last several months undergoing rehabilitation and working toward his first goal: walking unassisted. Recently, some milestones have included leg kicks, arm raises, and sitting up. His ultimate aim is to be as independent as possible, as he currently requires someone to be with him 24 hours a day.
- “The hardest thing for me is watching the strain it puts on my family. My wife’s a superhero because now she’s basically a single parent, but now she has a 44-year-old infant,” said Scharnick.
The strain that an accident like this places on a family is hard to express, he added. However, Scharnick continues to work towards independence, and a significant part of that is rejoining his CrossFit community.
He adds that, although he dislikes burpees and running, he would do anything to be able to do them again.
- “One thing I try to tell my classes when I coach is, respect the gift, honor the gift of this because sometimes that gift is taken from people,” said Scharnick.
One last thing: Earlier this year, he participated in all three weeks of the Open and is now back to coaching weekly. Scharnick posts his rehab progress here.
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Featured Image: James Scharnick
