Name: Amy Purdy
Sport: Snowboarding
Discipline(s):
Snowboarding
Event(s): Banked Slalom, Snowboardcross
Classification: SB-LL1
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 120
DOB: 11/7/1979
Birthplace: Las Vegas, Nev.
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.
High School: Cimarron Memorial High School (Las Vegas, Nev.) ‘98
Paralympic Experience
- Two-time Paralympian (2014); Three-time Paralympic medalist (1 silver, 2 bronze)
- PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, silver (snowboardcross), bronze (banked slalom)
- Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, bronze (snowboardcross)
World Championship Experience
- Most recent: 2017 – bronze (banked slalom)
- Years of Participation: 2012, 2017
- Medals: 2 (1 silver, 1 bronze)
- Silver: 2012 (snowboardcross)
- Bronze: 2017 (banked slalom)
Personal:
Amy Purdy began snowboarding at age 15, but in 1999, she contracted bacterial meningitis at the age of 19 and had less than a two percent chance of living. She was able to survive the infection, but lost both of her legs below the knee and would later require a kidney from her father the week before her 21st birthday...Co-founded Adaptive Action Sports in 2005, a non-profit organization and branch of Disabled Sports USA that is dedicated to introducing people with physical challenges to action sports...Instrumental in advocating for the inclusion of adaptive snowboarding to the 2014 Paralympic Games...Works as a motivational speaker, model and actress...Spokesperson for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, an organization that provides grants for training, competition and equipment for athletes with disabilities...Featured in a Madonna music video and a photo shoot with Nikki Sixx, and she made her film debut in What’s Buggin’ Seth, a movie by Eli Steele, in 2005...Competed on Dancing With the Stars...Contestant on the 21st season of The Amazing Race with partner Daniel Gale...Married to Gale...Co-author of "On My Own Two Feet"...Hobbies include exploring the outdoors, writing, wakeboarding, mountain biking and cooking.
