Sports: Paratriathlon,
Swimming
Career Highlights
2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games gold medalist
2021 Americas
Triathlon Para Championships Pleasant Prairie gold medalist
2019 Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series bronze medalist
2019 Banyoles ITU Paratriathlon World Cup bronze medalist
Two-time Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Paratriathlon American Championships bronze medalist (2018, 2019)
Seven-time Paralympic medalist in swimming, Paralympic Games London 2012 and Rio 2016 (5 golds, 2 silvers)
Quick Facts
Growing up on the beach in Florida made swimming a natural activity for Snyder. He swam for his high school, and at the U.S. Naval Academy where he captained the swim team in 2005-06. On September 7, 2011, he was blinded after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) while serving in the U.S. Navy in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The bomb did not affect his arms or legs, but his eyes had to be removed and replaced with prosthetics. One year to the date after losing his vision, Snyder took gold in the men’s S11 400m freestyle at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. In London, he also won gold in the 100m free and silver in the 50m free. Snyder was chosen as the honorary torchbearer for the opening ceremony of the 2013 Warrior Games. In 2016, he competed at his second Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, winning three more swimming golds in the 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle events and adding a silver in the 100m backstroke. In 2018, Snyder announced his transition from swimming to paratriathlon. Shortly after switching sports, he earned his first ITU World Paratriathlon Series medal, a bronze at the May 2019 stop in Yokohama, Japan. He earned his first victory in an elite international paratriathlon race in 2021 at the World Triathlon Para Championships in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. He then went on to win his first Paralympic gold medal as a paratriathlete at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Snyder is the son of Valarie Snyder, who resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife Sara. In 2021, Snyder and his wife announced they were pregnant with their first child, due in March 2022. He is the oldest of four children. He has two younger brothers and a younger sister.
Elite Triathlon CareerPlaced seventh at the AJ Bell World Triathlon Para Series Leeds (June 5) • Won the Americas Triathlon Para Championships in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin (June 27) • Won his first-ever Paralympic gold medal in paratriathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games alongside his guide, former 2016 Rio Olympian
Greg Billington (Aug. 28)
2019: Earned a bronze medal at the Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Paratriathlon American Championships (March 9) • Earned his first ITU World Paratriathlon Series medal, a bronze in Yokohama, Japan, (May 18) • Placed fourth at the Groupe Copley World Paratriathlon Series Montreal (June 28) • Took sixth in his ITU World Paratriathlon Championships debut in Lausanne, Switzerland (Sept. 1)
2018: In his first-ever race as an elite paratriathlete, took bronze at the Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Paratriathlon American Championships (March 10) • Placed fifth at the ITU World Paratriathlon Series event in Yokohama, Japan (May 12) • Placed fourth at the Sarasota-Bradenton ITU Paratriathlon World Cup (Oct. 14)
Paralympic Experience
- 3-time Paralympian; 8-time Paralympic medalist (6 gold, 2 silver)
- Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, gold (PTVI - Men)
- Paralympic Games Rio de Janeiro 2016, gold (100m Freestyle S11 - Men, 400m Freestyle S11 - Men, 50m Freestyle S11 - Men), silver (100m Backstroke S11 - Men), 4th (100m Butterfly S11 - Men)
- Paralympic Games London 2012, gold (100m Freestyle S11 - Men, 400m Freestyle S11 - Men), silver (50m Freestyle S11 - Men), 4th (100m Butterfly S11 - Men), 5th (100m Backstroke S11 - Men), 6th (100m Breaststroke SB11 - Men, 200m Individual Medley SM11 - Men)
World Championships Experience
- Most recent: 2019 – 6th (PTVI - Men)
- Years of participation: PTVI - Men 2019; 100m Freestyle S11 - Men 2015; 400m Freestyle S11 - Men 2015; 50m Freestyle S11 - Men 2015
- Medals: 3 (3 gold)
- Gold – 2015 (100m Freestyle S11 - Men, 400m Freestyle S11 - Men, 50m Freestyle S11 - Men)
