Meet the 2022 U.S. Paralympic Snowboarding Team
by Stephen Kerr
If the 2021-22 season is any indicator for success heading into the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, the U.S. Para snowboarding team should have high hopes they can duplicate or exceed their success from the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang.
Earlier this year, the team collected eight medals at the Para Snow Sports World Championships in Lillehammer, Norway, including three gold, three silver and two bronze.
That success is in line with their historic performance in PyeongChang, where the team won a total of 13 medals that included five gold, five silver and three bronze in snowboardcross and banked slalom.
Snowboard events in Beijing will include men’s and women’s snowboardcross and banked slalom events, with classifications for those with one or two lower limb impairments (LL1 or LL2), or upper limb impairments (UL).
Here’s a look at the 11 snowboarders who will represent Team USA in the Games.
Women
Women
Brittani Coury
Brittani Coury celebrates during the medal ceremony for the Women's Snowboard Banked Slalom SB-LL2 Final at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on March 16, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
The 35-year-old New Mexico native began snowboarding at age 13. In 2003, she fell and broke her right ankle, and eventually chose to have her leg amputated below the knee in 2011 after numerous problems and multiple operations. Making her Paralympic debut in 2018, Coury won a silver medal in banked slalom and finished sixth in snowboardcross. A nurse and EMT, Coury enjoys surfing, hiking and mountain biking.
Brenna Huckaby
Brenna Huckaby wins a medal at the World Para Snow Sports Championships at Hafjell in Lillehammer, Norway.
At her Paralympic debut in PyeongChang competing in the women’s LL1 category, Huckaby Clegg won gold medals in both snowboardcross and banked slalom. She carried that momentum into this year’s world championships, taking gold in banked slalom and silver in snowboardcross.
After the LL1 category was cut from this year’s Paralympic Games, Huckaby was allowed to compete in the LL2 classification.
Katlyn Maddry
Katlyn Maddry competes at the World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer, Norway.
Born in China, Maddry grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. She was diagnosed with Fibular Hemimelia at birth, which resulted in scoliosis. That led to her right leg being amputated when she was 8. Maddry will be making her debut as a Paralympian, which follows up a fourth-place finish in dual banked slalom at this year’s world championships.
When she was in fifth grade, Maddry was invited by her special education program to the Alyeska Ski Resort. She joined a race program called Challenge Alaska and trained there throughout her high school years.
Her favorite thing about snowboarding is there’s always room for improvement.
Men
Men
Tyler Burdick
Tyler Burdick wins a medal at the World Para Snow Sports Championships at Hafjell in Lillehammer, Norway.
Burdick will be competing in his first Paralympic Games since Sochi 2014, where he finished eighth in snowboardcross. At this year’s world championships, he captured a bronze medal in the event.
Burdick, a 40-year-old Salt Lake City native, enlisted in the Navy and was injured after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb while on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. He suffered major injuries to both his feet that resulted in being fitted with a pair of braces that allowed him to stand and walk again. After the Sochi Games, he made the decision to have both legs amputated.
Burdick began training for snowboarding through the National Ability Center and the Wounded Warrior Project. Hobbies include biking, sailing and traveling. He also has a private pilot’s license.
Noah Elliott
Noah Elliott wins a medal at the World Para Snow Sports Championships at Hafjell in Lillehammer, Norway.
The 24-year-old Missouri native captured gold in banked slalom in PyeongChang along with bronze in snowboardcross. At this year’s world championships, he took gold in dual banked slalom.
At 17, Elliott had his leg amputated above the knee following a diagnosis of osteosarcoma. He learned about snowboarding while attending a camp for children with cancer. He enjoys learning new things and sharing stories with others.
Keith Gabel
Keith Gabel celebrates during the Men's Snowboard Cross SB-LL2 Medal Ceremony at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on March 12, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
Gabel earned a silver medal in snowboardcross in PyeongChang and a bronze in the same event at the 2014 Sochi Games. The Ogden, Utah, native took first in snowboardcross at the 2019 world championships. This season, he picked up silver and bronze in snowboardcross at the world cup competition in Klovsjo, Sweden, and won bronze in Pyha, Finland.
In 2005, Gabel was injured in an industrial accident that crushed his left foot. Doctors amputated the foot after numerous blood transfusions and hyperbaric treatments. He picked up Para snowboarding through the National Ability Center in 2010.
Gabel has a tattoo on his right leg of stiches that make it look like that leg has been cut off and sewn back on. He got this tattoo a few years before losing his left leg. He says the meaning is no matter what happens to him, he’ll be able to bounce back, which he’s proven to be true.
Garrett Geros
Garrett Geros at the World Para Snow Sports Championships at Hafjell in Lillehammer, Norway.
Born in Cartersville, Georgia, Geros was involved in a serious accident that forced doctors to amputate his left leg and insert pins and a titanium rod in his right.
The Beijing Games will be Geros’ first Paralympics. At this year’s world championships, he finished ninth in snowboardcross and 12th in banked slalom. He has trained with Adaptive Action Sports and considers snowboarding to be one of the best things in his life.
Zach Miller
Zach Miller poses for a portrait during the Team USA Beijing 2022 Paralympic shoot on Sept. 12, 2021 in Irvine, Calif.
Miller will be competing in his first Paralympic Games. The Silverthorne, Colorado, native won a bronze medal in his world championships debut in 2019 and captured his first title in dual banked slalom at this year’s championships in Lillehammer.
Miller was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at six months. He picked up adaptive skiing as a kid but turned to snowboarding while watching a group on a course at the National Sports Center for the Disabled.
Mike Minor
Mike Minor celebrates during the victory ceremony following the the Men's snowboard Slalom SB-UL at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on March 16, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
The Frisco, Colorado, native broke into the world scene in 2017 when he won a gold medal in snowboardcross and a silver in banked slalom at that year’s world championships. He followed it up with a gold in banked slalom and bronze in snowboardcross at his Paralympic debut in PyeongChang.
Battling injuries this season, Minor, 31, was unable to compete at the world championships in Lillehammer but did grab silver in snowboardcross at the final world cup competition in Big White, British Columbia.
Minor was born missing his right forearm. He took up snowboarding at age 7 and worked as a lift attendant at Copper Mountain before competing through Adaptive Action Sports.
Mike Schultz
Mike Schultz on the medal stand at the World Para Snow Sports Championships at Hafjell in Lillehammer, Norway.
The 40-year-old Schultz has never been one to be idle. When he’s not competing, he designs prosthetics for the company he founded and recently released his first book, “Driven to Ride: The True Story of an Elite Athlete Who Rebuilt His Leg, His Life, and His Career.” And, oh yeah, he’s a pretty good snowboarder too.
The St. Cloud, Minnesota, native won a gold medal in snowboardcross and silver in banked slalom in PyeongChang. More recently, he snagged silver in dual banked slalom and snowboardcross at this year’s world championships. The lifelong action sports fan is also the first person to have won Summer and Winter X Games gold medals, doing it in adaptive motocross in the summer. Schultz got involved in adaptive sports following a 2008 snocross racing accident that result in his left leg being amputated above the knee.
Evan Strong
Evan Strong on the medal stand at the World Para Snow Sports Championships at Hafjell in Lillehammer, Norway.
Strong made history in 2014 by winning a gold medal in snowboardcross as the sport made its Paralympic debut in Sochi. Four years later in PyeongChang, he captured a silver medal in banked slalom and finished fourth in snowboardcross. Now 35, Strong is still going strong. This season, he took home a bronze for snowboardcross at the world championships in Lillehammer.
Born in San Francisco, Strong was raised in Hawaii. He was on the verge of becoming a professional skateboarder when he was struck by a drunk driver while on a motorcycle. He underwent a partial amputation of his left leg and picked up snowboarding while working at the Northstar California Resort. He is passionate about environmental issues and enjoys surfing, mountain biking and photography.
Stephen Kerr
Stephen Kerr is a freelance journalist and newsletter publisher based in Austin, Texas. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. You can follow him on Twitter @smkwriter1.