Gerald Hayden

Sport: Alpine Skiing

Height: 6-0

Weight: 160

Classification: LW12-1, Sitting

Date of Birth: May 18, 1980

Birthplace: Fresno, Calif.

Hometown: Winter Park, Colo.

Current Residence: Winter Park, Colo.

High School: Golden Valley High (Merced, Calif.) ‘98

College: UC Davis ‘03, Economics

Coach: Kevin Jardine

Career Highlights

• 2014: Paralympic Winter Games, 8th slalom
• 2012: NorAm Winter Park, 1st slalom; NorAm Copper Mountain, 3rd slalom run 1, 2nd slalom run 2
• 2010: Paralympic Winter Games, 16th slalom
• 2008: World Cup Korea, 8th giant slalom; 10 top-10 finishes in World Cup competition; The Hartford Ski Spectacular, 5th slalom; U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing National Championships, 2nd super-G, 4th slalom, 5th downhill
• 2006: Paralympic Winter Games, 19th slalom, 20th giant slalom; Meridian Cup, 2nd giant slalom and super-G, 3rd slalom; Huntsman Cup, 3rd giant slalom

Personal

In 2006, Gerald Hayden competed on the biggest mono-skiing stage in the world, the Paralympic Winter Games. In Torino, he collected top-20 finishes in both the slalom (19th) and giant slalom (20th). Hayden kicked up his training regime for the 2007-2008 season and it all paid off with ten top-20 finishes in World Cup competition, the highlight of which was an eighth place finish in the giant slalom in Korea. His rapid progress earned him a spot on Team USA for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Hayden was a recreational skier and snowboarder before he suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident in 1995. Within a year of his injury, Hayden signed up for a ski lesson at Tahoe Adaptive Ski School and learned that not only that he could still ski, but that the experience was exhilarating.

Hayden has a degree in economics from UC-Davis, enjoys reading John Steinbeck novels and eating Thai food.

Connect
Twitter: @therealheraldo

Paralympic Experience

• 3-time Paralympian;
• Paralympic Games Sochi 2014, 8th (Slalom - Sitting - Men)
• Paralympic Games Vancouver 2010, (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Men), 16th (Slalom - Sitting - Men)
• Paralympic Games Turin 2006, (Downhill - Sitting - Men), 19th (Slalom - Sitting - Men), 20th (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Men), 32th (Super-G - Sitting - Men)