Laurie Stephens

Quick Facts

• Specialty: Para Alpine Skiing (Sitting) — LW12-1 Classification
• Born with spina bifida in Wenham, Massachusetts
• Discovered skiing at age 12 at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire
• Began training with New England Disabled Ski Team under coach Chris Devlin-Young at age 15
• 2006 USOC Paralympic Sportswoman of the Year
• Former U.S. record holder in Para Swimming (100-meter and 200-meter backstroke)
• Parents: John and Donna Stephens
• Hobbies include reading and knitting

Biographical Information

Born with spina bifida, a congenital neural tube defect that affects the development of the spinal cord and its protective covering, Laurie Stephens grew up navigating the world with paralysis affecting her lower extremities. She discovered skiing at age 12, when a group of athletes with disabilities took a trip to Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire. On those trails, she found the sport that would define the next quarter century of her life.

By age 15, Stephens had joined the New England Disabled Ski Team under coach Chris Devlin-Young, beginning the formal development that would take her to the international stage. Her trajectory on the world cup circuit was immediate and striking. In her very first world cup season in 2004, she won the overall world cup title and the giant slalom world cup championship.

At the Paralympic Winter Games Turin 2006, Stephens won gold in downhill and gold in super-G in the women's sitting division and silver in giant slalom. Those results earned her the U.S. Olympic Committee's Paralympic Sportswoman of the Year award that same year and a nomination for the 2006 ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability. 

At the Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, she earned silver in downhill. At the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, she claimed bronze in both downhill and super-G. At the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, she added another bronze in downhill. She made her fifth Paralympic appearance at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, competing in downhill at age 38, remaining competitive at the Games level well into what for most athletes would be considered a post-peak career phase.

At the world championship level, her record is equally sustained. Stephens accumulated medals across multiple world championship appearances, including gold in downhill at the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in La Molina, Spain, and gold in giant slalom at the 2021 World Championships in Lillehammer, Norway, after the event was rescheduled to 2022 due to COVID-19. She has also won six world championship silver medals and five bronze medals across disciplines and years. At the 2025 FIS Para Alpine Skiing World Championships in Maribor, Slovenia, she placed ninth in Slalom in the women's sitting division.

Before skiing became her primary competitive arena, Stephens set two U.S. records in Para swimming, in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke, demonstrating an athletic range that extends well beyond the mountain. Off the snow, she enjoys reading and knitting.

Paralympic Experience

• 6-time Paralympian; 7-time Paralympic medalist (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
• Paralympic Games Milan 2026, (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women), 12th (Slalom - Sitting - Women)
• Paralympic Games Beijing 2022, (Downhill - Sitting - Women)
• Paralympic Games Pyeongchang 2018, bronze (Downhill - Sitting - Women), 4th (Super Combined - Sitting - Women), 5th (Slalom - Sitting - Women, Super-G - Sitting - Women), 7th (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women)
• Paralympic Games Sochi 2014, (Super Combined - Sitting - Women), bronze (Downhill - Sitting - Women, Super-G - Sitting - Women), 4th (Slalom - Sitting - Women), 6th (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women)
• Paralympic Games Vancouver 2010, silver (Downhill - Sitting - Women), 4th (Super-G - Sitting - Women), 5th (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women, Slalom - Sitting - Women, Super Combined - Sitting - Women)
• Paralympic Games Turin 2006, gold (Downhill - Sitting - Women, Super-G - Sitting - Women), silver (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women), 7th (Slalom - Sitting - Women)

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2025 – (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women), 9th (Slalom - Sitting - Women)
• Years of participation: Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025; Slalom - Sitting - Women 2013, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2025; Downhill - Sitting - Women 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023; Super Combined - Sitting - Women 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023; Super-G - Sitting - Women 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2023; Downhill LW10-12 - Women 2004; Giant Slalom LW10-12 - Women 2004; Slalom LW10-12 - Women 2004; Super-G LW10-12 - Women 2004
• Medals: 12 (2 gold, 6 silver, 4 bronze)
• Gold – 2022 (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women); 2013 (Downhill - Sitting - Women)
• Silver – 2023 (Giant Slalom - Sitting - Women, Super Combined - Sitting - Women, Super-G - Sitting - Women); 2011 (Downhill - Sitting - Women, Super-G - Sitting - Women); 2004 (Giant Slalom LW10-12 - Women)
• Bronze – 2022 (Slalom - Sitting - Women); 2015 (Super Combined - Sitting - Women); 2013 (Super-G - Sitting - Women); 2011 (Super Combined - Sitting - Women)