Impairment Information |
Type of Impairment |
Limb deficiency |
Origin of Impairment |
Acquired |
Classification |
SB-LL2 |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Wife Mariah, daughter Indie [2015] |
Residence |
Haiku, HI, USA |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Languages |
English |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began snowboarding at age 19. |
Why this sport? |
"When I was hit, I was living in Maui [in Hawaii, United States of America] so my recovery was there. One day I came across a snowboarding magazine and saw people riding down snow-covered mountains and was just so inspired. It was two years after my accident and after seeing that, I told my family I have to learn to snowboard. Second chance at life, and I have to do this because board sports were my passion. So I packed up, moved to Lake Tahoe in California and found a job at Northstar Ski Resort. Just immersed myself in the ski culture and shortly after that I got introduced to snowboard competition. It was one of the greatest rushes of my life." |
Training Regime |
"I train throughout the entire day. I start with yoga, then weightlifting, then in the afternoon I do a sport or outdoor activity [skateboarding, surfing or snowboarding]." |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Skateboarding, surfing, cycling, downhill mountain bike racing. (Facebook page, 16 Dec 2018) |
Most influential person in career |
His family, and Adaptive Action Sports founders Amy Purdy and Daniel Gale. (teamusa.org, 07 Mar 2018) |
Hero / Idol |
US Para skateboarder Jon Comer. (teamusa.org, 07 Mar 2018) |
Injuries |
In 2010 he broke five ribs, had a stage three ruptured spleen, and suffered numerous abrasions while downhill mountain biking at the Northstar Resort in California, United States of America. (strongevan.com, 17 May 2013) |
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs |
His mother reads him his astrology stars before a race. (nbcolympics.com, 26 Dec 2017) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Mind over matter, but soul over all." (Facebook profile, 08 Feb 2018) |
Awards and honours |
He was named Male Athlete of the Month for March 2014 by the United States Olympic Committee [USOC]. (teamusa.org, 04 Apr 2014) |
Ambitions |
To compete at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (nytimes.com, 20 Mar 2018) |
Impairment |
At age 17 he borrowed his older sister Stephanie's motorcycle after he missed his lift to work. A mile from his home, a drunk driver travelling at 65mph crossed over into oncoming traffic, striking the car in front and then hitting him head-on at full speed. His left leg was amputated three days after the accident. (teamusa.org, 01 Mar 2014; strongevan.com, 01 Jan 2014) |
Other information |
ABLE-BODIED PUSH
In 2017 he won an able-bodied snowboard competition in Colorado, United States of America. Ahead of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, where he went on to win a silver medal in banked slalom, he revealed that he hoped to compete in able-bodied snowboarding at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. "It's all in the works. After this Games [in 2018 in Pyeongchang] I'm going to focus full-time on able-bodied racing and step away from adaptive racing for a couple years. Being able to win an able-bodied national title in snowboard cross as someone with a prosthetic leg, it's almost as euphoric as winning a gold medal at the Games in Sochi [2014 Paralympic Winter Games]." (nytimes.com, 20 Mar 2018) |
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 2 |
2014/2015 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 2 |
2014/2015 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:24.06 |
| 2 |
2016/2017 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 4 |
2016/2017 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:08.99 |
Paralympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2014 |
Snowboardcross - Standing |
1:43.61 |
| 4 |
2018 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 2 |
2018 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
49.20 |
World Cup Finals |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 6 |
2015/2016 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 2 |
2015/2016 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 1 |
2015/2016 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
54.58 |
| 6 |
2016/2017 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 6 |
2016/2017 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 6 |
2017/2018 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:05.19 |
| 7 |
2017/2018 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:17.46 |
WSF World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2011/2012 |
Snowboardcross - Standing |
|
