Name: Josh Sweeney
Sport: Nordic Skiing
Discipline(s):
Cross Country Skiing
Event(s): Middle-Distance Cross-Country, Long-Distance Cross-Country, Sprint Cross-Country
Height: 5-8
DOB: 6/6/1987
Birthplace: Mesa, Ariz.
Hometown: Glendale, Ariz.
High School: Ironwood High School (Glendale, Ariz.) ‘05
College: Military Service Branch United States Marine Corps, Sergeant
Paralympic Experience
- Two-time Paralympian (2014, 2022); One-time Paralympic medalist (1 gold)
- Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, 16th (long-distance cross-country), 19th (sprint cross-country), 24th (middle-distance cross-country)
- Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, gold
World Championship Experience
- Most recent: 2013 – silver (sled hockey)
- Years of participation: 2012, 2013
- Medals: 2 (1 gold, 1 silver)
- Gold – 2012
- Silver – 2013
Personal:
Retired Marine Corps Sergeant Josh Sweeney became a bilateral amputee after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) while serving in Nowzad, Afghanistan in October 2009. ...For his sacrifice in combat, Sweeney received a Purple Heart...An able-bodied hockey player throughout high school, Sweeney was immediately drawn to sled hockey during his rehabilitation...He played on the San Antonio Rampage, a club sled hockey team made up entirely of injured military athletes, from 2010-13 alongside U.S. Paralympic teammates Jen Lee, Paul Schaus and Rico Roman...Sweeney also played on the Dallas Stars club team in 2012, helping the Stars earn the 2012 USA Hockey Sled Classic title...He made his first U.S. National Sled Hockey Team in 2011, serving as tri-captain of the national team for the 2012-13 season...Sweeney currently resides in Live Oak, Texas, with his wife Amber...In addition to sled hockey, he enjoys swimming, lifting, shooting and playing wheelchair basketball.
