Impairment Information |
Type of Impairment |
Limb deficiency |
Origin of Impairment |
Congenital |
Classification |
SB-UL |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Partner Virpi Jumisko |
Residence |
Frisco, CO, USA |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Languages |
English |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He took up the sport at age seven after seeing other people snowboarding. |
Why this sport? |
"Snowboarding chose me. I don't just like it, I love it. Snowboarding is a part of me, it's who I am." |
Club / Team |
Adaptive Action Sports: Copper Mountain, CO, USA |
Name of coach |
Pat Holland, USA |
Senior International Debut |
Year |
2015 |
Competing for |
United States |
Tournament |
World Cup |
Location |
Landgraaf, NED |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Smeagol, Mike, Squirrel (paralympic.org, 26 Nov 2018; teamusa.org, 07 Mar 2018; Athlete, 04 Oct 2016) |
Hobbies |
Skateboarding, watching movies, spending time with his partner and his two dogs. (paralympic.org, 11 Jan 2017) |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning the banked slalom overall World Cup title in his first season of international racing. (wnep.com, 02 Jun 2017) |
Hero / Idol |
Para snowboarder Andrew Hale. (Athlete, 04 Oct 2016) |
Injuries |
A knee injury prevented him from competing at the 2016 Winter X Games in Aspen, CO, United States of America. (teamusa.org, 29 Jan 2016) |
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs |
He listens to music before competing. (Athlete, 04 Oct 2016) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Make 'this' fun, make 'this' comfortable, and 'this' will make you a champion." (Athlete, 04 Oct 2016) |
Awards and honours |
He was named Athlete of the Month for November 2016 by the United States Olympic Committee [USOC]. (teamusa.org, 07 Dec 2016) |
Impairment |
He was born missing his right forearm. He wore a prosthetic forearm and hand until he was age five, but then began to see it as a hindrance and stopped using it. (wnep.com, 02 Jun 2017; xgames.espn.com, 2016) |
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2016/2017 |
Snowboard Cross - Upper Limb Impaired |
|
| 2 |
2016/2017 |
Banked Slalom - Upper Limb Impaired |
1:10.94 |
Paralympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 3 |
2018 |
Snowboard Cross - Upper Limb Impaired |
|
| 1 |
2018 |
Banked Slalom - Upper Limb Impaired |
50.77 |
World Cup Finals |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 5 |
2015/2016 |
Snowboard Cross - Upper Limb Impaired |
|
| 3 |
2015/2016 |
Snowboard Cross - Upper Limb Impaired |
|
| 2 |
2015/2016 |
Banked Slalom - Upper Limb Impaired |
59.43 |
| |
2016/2017 |
Snowboard Cross - Upper Limb Impaired |
DNS |
| 1 |
2016/2017 |
Banked Slalom - Upper Limb Impaired |
|
