Matt Cable

In 2014 Montana Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Matt Cable was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare, fast-moving cancer of the bone marrow. During treatment, Cable went into complete organ failure that put him in an 18-day coma and was not expected to survive. He did, and began competing in the Department of Defense’s adaptive sports programs to help battle depression during his recovery. He was selected to compete in the 2017 Warrior Games where he won three gold and one silver medal.

After the Warrior Games success, NBC contacted him to compete in the 2019 Titan Games, hosted by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Although he didn’t win, Cable was able to share his story and inspire others battling cancer.

Cable deployed to Qatar shortly after the Titan Games, where he learned his cancer had relapsed. He was immediately evacuated to Walter Reed National Medical Military Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was hospitalized for about 40 days of aggressive chemotherapy, and later transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona where he spent another month in the hospital. During both hospital stays he overcame serious complications, like a fungal infection in his brain that almost caused him to lose his right eye, and a blood clot in his heart.

Eventually, Cable underwent successful bone marrow transplant, and regained his ability to compete as an elite athlete. He traveled to the Netherlands as the sole National Guard member on Team U.S. at the 2022 Invictus Games. He medaled in each of the seven events in which he competed; gold in the 4x100 meter relay, bronze in the shot put, four-minute row, powerlifting, 100-meter and 200-meter dash.

Cable returned from the Netherlands and qualified for the 2022 DOD Warrior Games, where he won another 7 medals – 4 golds, 2 silvers, and a bronze.

Matt is now medically retired from the Air Force, married to his wife, Ensley and lives with their son, Cade, in Debary, Fla.