Name: Alana Nichols
Sport: Canoe
Discipline(s):
Canoe, Kayak
Event(s): Paracanoe - Women's KL2
DOB: 3/21/1983
Birthplace: Farmington, N.M.
Hometown: Farmington, N.M.
High School: Farmington High School ‘01
College: University of Arizona '06, Special Education Rehab and School Psychology; University of Alabama '08, Kinesiology (Master’s)
Paralympic Experience
- Five-time Paralympian (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016); Six-time medalist (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
- 2016 Paralympic Games: KL2 (canoe)
- 2014 Paralympic Winter Games: silver downhill, 4th giant slalom; U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing National Championships, 2nd slalom; Huntsman Cup, 1st giant slalom, 2nd slalom; World Cup Panorama, 2nd downhill, 2nd super-G, 3rd super combined; World Cup Copper Mountain, 5th giant slalom, 5th slalom; NorAm Aspen, 1st downhill; NorAm Winter Park, 1st giant slalom, 2nd slalom; U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing National Championships, 1st downhill and super-G
- 2012 Paralympic Games: 4th (wheelchair basketball)
- 2010 Paralympic Winter Games: gold downhill and giant slalom, silver super-G, bronze super combined
- 2008 Paralympic Games: 1st (wheelchair basketball)
World Championship Experience
- 2016 ICF Paracanoe World Championships: 8th overall in KL2 Women's 200m
- 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships: 9th overall in KL2 Women's 200m
Personal:
Alana Nichols is a three-sport phenomenon in wheelchair basketball, alpine skiing and paracanoe....She grew up in Farmington, N.M., and was an avid snowboarder throughout her youth. In 2002, however, Nichols landed back-first on a rock while attempting a backflip on her snowboard. The injury caused her to be paralyzed from the waist down...Nichols didn’t let her athletic career stop there, though, as she began playing wheelchair basketball just two years later and helping Team USA to win gold at the Paralympic Games Beijing 2008. ...She is the first U.S. female Paralympian to win gold medals at a Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.
