|
1998 Paralympic gold medalist in giant slalom in Nagano...2000 World Championships giant slalom gold medallist...A member of the U.S. A Team...Has evolved from a one-event skier to an all-around skier...Three-time champion at 2001 National Championships in Big Sky, Montana, USA...Named U.S. Olympic Committee Athlete of the Month honors for April 2001.
Hometown: Bradford, New Hampshire, USA Residence: Vail, Colorado, USA
Education: University of Northern Colorado Marital Status/Family: Married to Heather...Has two younger sisters...Young Rottweiler puppy dog named Kya
Start In Sport: After his accident, he enrolled in the disabled ski program in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, USA, and eventually moved to Vail, Colorado, USA, to boost his racing skills
Club: Colorado Disabled Competition Center Years On National Team: Five
Other Sports: An ex-Enduro racer, he started downhill mountain bike racing when he moved to Vail, Colorado, USA...He bought a new bike in the spring of 2001 with some of his cash winnings from National Championships...He was an ice hockey player as a child
Nature/Cause Of Disability: In 1989, two weeks after graduating from Kearsarge Regional High School in New Hampshire, he lost his leg in a motorcycle crash Additional Information: In January 2001, he had two super-G podium finishes in Europe, and in March he won the Disabled World Cup Finals slalom in Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada...Won four races (two super-G, one slalom, one giant slalom) in 1998 in Sunshine, Alberta, Canada Quotable: U.S. Disabled Ski Team head coach Ewald ZIRBISEGGER: "I call him 'Little Girardelli' because he has this real passion and he can do so much so well..." LALLA: "My focus last season (2000-01 season) was to improve my consistency, and it happened. ... I think a lot of it was the mental side and figuring out how to approach things. I was doing a lot of training at midseason with Greg (MANNINO) and Michael MILTON (Australian champion), and we picked each other's brains ... and I started letting my skiing happen. I wasn't as caught up in how my skiing looked."
Back to biography
Athletes Index
|