I lost my leg in horror accident – now I’m a Team USA track and field athlete and starred on a reality show
NOELLE Lambert's life changed forever when she lost her leg in a horrific moped accident.
The Team USA Paralympics star was 19 when she lost steering control and veered into a dump truck while riding with a friend in Martha's Vineyard.
It was the first time the Division I lacrosse athlete had driven a moped.
The injuries were so severe that the UMass Lowell athlete could have lost her life were it not for the quick-thinking actions of a passerby who wrapped his shirt around the leg to apply a tourniquet.
Lambert refused to let the 2016 accident hold her back in life – or her promising athletics career.
After months of rehabilitation, she was cleared to return by the NCAA and became the first above-knee amputee ever to play lacrosse at the collegiate level two years later.
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After college, Lambert turned her attention to track and field and she is now preparing for the Paris Paralympic Games, where she will compete in the T63 long jump.
It will be the latest showpiece sporting event for Lambert, who competed as a sprinter in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 and internationally in Para Snowboard.
Lambert may have lost a limb, but she has gained numerous new and exciting opportunities since her accident, including an appearance on the reality show Survivor.
And the Team USA star even admits that she is grateful for her accident in several ways.
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"When I look back on my accident I am extremely grateful for it because not only did it change the type of athlete and teammate I was but it's made me a better person in who I am today," Lambert told The U.S. Sun.
"It's made me realize what is important in life and appreciate the little things. And the best part of a journey, a really tough journey, is the hard work it takes to get there.
"Before my accident, I took practice for granted. I would never give it my all. I would never really try unless it was a game, or in-game competition.
"And having my accident, it made me realize that if I want to get somewhere I have to put in the hard work. So it makes me appreciate my life. It really was just a leg...
"Seeing the support that rallied behind me and the community I was able to lean on, they were the sole reason I was able to continue my life the way I wanted to live it.
"Seeing that, it made me realize that I shouldn't feel sorry for myself."
Lambert was a standout athlete in high school, competing at the varsity level in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse.
As a freshman at UMass Lowell, she tied for first in goals with 15 and started every game.
After taking off a year from competition, Lambert returned to the field with a prosthetic leg and incredibly scored in her first game back.
"Don't call this a comeback because I never left my team," she said afterward.
Lambert had no real plans for life after college and when a member of the Team USA Paralympic track and field team reached out to her about potentially switching sports, she jumped at the chance.
"It fell into my lap – and was a blessing in disguise because I fell in love with a completely new sport," she says.
"I signed up for the first track meeting that I saw and didn't really have a track coach in the beginning stages of learning how to sprint.
"I was doing it on my own but at my first meet I actually won and beat the reigning national champion."
Lambert quickly took to track and field, finishing sixth in the T63 100m at the Tokyo Games with a time of 15.97 seconds.
It was an American record in the classification that featured above-knee amputees.
After Tokyo, Lambert decided to do something completely different by competing in Para Snowboard.
"I had a great first Paralympics. I knew it was going to be very difficult to come home with a medal just because I was fairly new to the sport," she adds.
"Basically training nonstop for two years, I wanted a break and wanted to do something fun.
"My fiance loves snowboarding, he's a great snowboarder. He was trying to get me to start it.
"I reached out to Amy Purdy who is a double amputee Paralympic snowboarding medalist and asked her for some tips.
"She asked me to come to Colorado and train with her husband, who is an adaptive coach.
"I decided to dive in and started competing right away. I was able to qualify for the World Championships in my first season.
"It was incredible as it was a breath of fresh air.
"I needed to do something for a few months so I could go back to missing track."
Lambert gained newfound fame when she competed in Survivor 43 in Fiji in 2022.
The 27-year-old was the first above-the-knee paraplegic on the reality show – and she finished eighth.
"It was incredible. Just like all these other adventures, it fell into my lap," she said.
"I received a DM on social media from a casting director of the show.
"Going out there and being able to represent the disabled community - I was the first above the knee amputee to ever compete on Survivor – I was doing it for a lot of people who don't believe in themselves.
"I didn't win the million dollars but I had the million-dollar experience and create a positive light for people who are going through tough times, with disability or not.
"Seeing someone like me on a reality show, so vulnerable and showing all my emotions is sometimes what people need to see and the amount of love I received from the Survivor community was just incredible."
After her results plateaued in the 100m in 2023, Lambert decided to switch things up by competing in the long jump.
Lambert is now going into the Paris Paralympics with a realistic chance to medal after regularly jumping over five meters in training and competition.
She credits prosthetics company Ossur, with whom she has a sponsorship deal, with helping her prepare for Paris.
"I signed with Ossur in 2019/20 and I'm so grateful for their support," she said.
"When I graduated, I received a sprinting blade which allowed me to pursue my dreams of being in the Paralympics.
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"I now have a great jumping blade and in two-and-a-half-months I was able to break the American record for the long jump.
"Now going into Paris, I have a great shot at medaling in the long jump and I credit it to Ossur and their products."