Better Together: 14-Year-Old Girl Pushes Brother in Wheelchair During Cross Country Races

A determined 14-year-old Wisconsin runner pushes her disabled 15-year-old brother in a wheelchair during high school cross country races.

The siblings, Jeffrey and Susan Bergeman, are freshmen at Chippewa High School and share a competitive spark, according to The Epoch Times.

“As parents, we feel very proud of Susan and Jeffrey running together,” the sibling’s mother Jess told the Epoch Times. “We recognize the hard work that they both have put in to be ready for the races, and are excited for them to be out there with all the other athletes who have worked hard, too.”

Jeffrey and Susan Bergeman are the reason why sports are so beautiful.

The brother and sister FRESHMAN duo compete together in cross country for the Chippewa Falls Cardinals…

An absolutely heart warming story of determination, family, and love. pic.twitter.com/1ZY0AQcCoq

— Duncan Goldberg (@DuncGold) September 29, 2021

When Jeffrey was just 22 months old, he experienced cardiac arrest. He was without oxygen to the brain for 20 minutes and as a result, he suffers from cerebral palsy, dysautonomia, and epilepsy, the Epoch Times reports. The teen is unable to speak or walk, but is able to communicate with head movement and “computer-controlled eye gaze movements.”

“Jeffrey has learning challenges and requires support at school,” the siblings’ mother Jess told the Epoch Times, “however, he is able to understand much of what is said to him, responds to questions, and is able to express his likes, dislikes, and feelings.”

The Epoch Times reports:

Jess and her husband, Jordan, both 36, were high school sweethearts who married in 2005 and settled in their hometown of Chippewa Falls after college. Both of them being runners, they each ran with Jeffrey in community races for many years. Susan took over of her own volition around the age of 10.

Susan was adamant about running with Jeffrey at Chippewa High when her parents asked her if she wanted to take a break.

Susan recalled to WEAU:

She looked at me as if I had two heads like, absolutely not, this was not even an option, they were doing cross country together and I’m so proud of her. Once she settled in on like this is what we are doing, it was kind of a matter of, ok we need to get all of the adults on board to make sure this can actually happen because she is going to do this and she is making sure her brother is going to be out there too.

Jordan remembered his daughter saying, “No, there is no way we are not doing cross country together,” according to WEAU.

Unfortunately, the pair is not yet officially recognized by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA).

Susan told WEAU:

We are currently exhibition, we are not competing at all, there are a lot of rules that are on us like we aren’t suppose to pass people and we are suppose to go slow and let everyone finish first and our results don’t matter and my brother and I are both super competitive so it does kind of annoy us a little bit.

“This first year, it’s ok that it’s kind of just starting to get people aware that this can happen, that the kids can do this safely but beyond that we want them to see they can actually be true competitors and true athletes on the field,” Jess told the WEAU. 

In the sibling tandem’s latest race, the 5k Big Rivers Conference Championships Meet, they finished in just 31 minutes, smashing their previous personal best time, the Epoch Times reports. 

“They are truly just great kids,” mom Jess Bergeman told the outlet. “They run their race, and at the same time, remind us that life isn’t all about winning—what matters most is love.”

Whenever Susan runs into a challenging hill or difficult stretch on the cross-country course, she relies on Jeffrey for motivation.  

“Mentally I just push away the pain and focus on him enjoying it,” she said, per KARE11. 

Jess told the Epoch Times that Susan is Jeffrey’s most prominent supporter:

Anytime Jeffrey has had surgeries or illnesses that have landed him in the hospital, and there have been many. Susan has always been his biggest support warrior. Even though they aren’t in the same classes at school, Susan always stops by Jeffrey’s special classroom to check on him and see how his day is going.

Jeffrey reciprocates by constantly making his little sister laugh and serving as her confidant.