Name Chris Devlin-Young | ||
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Nominations Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award | ||
Chris devlin young on the dynaccess monoski with pro air monoski shock 2 mov
Christopher Devlin-Young (born December 26, 1961) is an American alpine ski racer and two time Paralympic Champion, who resides in Campton, New Hampshire. He competes as a monoskier in the LW 12–1 class.
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Career
Raised in San Diego, Governor's Island, Fremont, Scotts Valley, Bellingham, and Sumas, Young was paralyzed in a plane crash in Alaska while serving in the United States Coast Guard in 1982. He learned to ski at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in 1986 as a "four-tracker," standing on two skis while using outriggers. He was named to the U.S. Disabled Ski Team in 1989 and competed in the 1990 Disabled Skiing World Championships in Winter Park, Colorado, winning a silver medal and two bronzes in the LW-1 class. Devlin-Young missed the 1992 Winter Paralympic team but qualified for the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway, where he won gold in the slalom.
In 1995 Devlin-Young began a two-year hiatus from racing, and when he returned to the sport in 1997 it was as a monoskier. He missed the 1998 Winter Paralympics in Nagano, Japan but came back in 2002 with another gold, this time in super G, along with a silver in downhill. With that performance he became the first skier ever to win a Paralympic gold medal in two different disability classes. He repeated his downhill performance in 2006, placing second behind teammate Kevin Bramble. In 2015, he won the Mono Skier X (X-Games), also becoming the oldest skier to medal in the competition.
