Alpine Achievement

Instead of spending the summer following high school graduation working a summer job, Jason spent it in the hospital, recovering from the left leg above-the-knee amputation incurred from the accident. After being discharged, Jason was fitted for his first artificial leg at a prosthetic shop in Bedford where he met Bob Emerson, a former USDST member. While Bob fitted Jason for his prosthesis, he and other prosthetists told Jason about disabled skiing. But Jason wanted nothing to do with disabled sports. After all, Jason was a jock. During high school, he’d excelled in both lacrosse and hockey, and hockey had absorbed him completely. Before the accident, Jason could probably have walked on to any Division II college hockey team.

Despite losing his leg, in a sense, Jason didn’t consider himself disabled. His picture of disabled athletics wasn’t very positive. He pictured people who were either elderly, barely able to get around, severely handicapped, or stumbling around on walkers, more like the Special Olympics. For some reason, Jason didn’t picture athletic people being disabled. Like most people who become disabled, Jason didn’t know anyone else with a disability, except for Bob at the prosthetic shop. So instead of pursuing sports, Jason just hung out with his friends. But, as Jason would later discover, the picture he had of disabled sports was completely wrong--

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When Sarah Will arrived at the 1992 Paralympics in Tignes France, she knew she was ready to race. She had trained all summer on her own, lifting weights, taking long treks on her chair, and participating in road races. Because she was physically prepared, she was also more mentally prepared than she had ever been. She’d also gone to a certified Rolfer to cleanse her body of toxins and increase flexibility. Standing at the top of the downhill racecourse, she’d never felt better. Her goal was not to do her personal best; it was to be the best skier in the world.

As soon as she flew out of the starting gate, Sarah knew that she was going to take the race to the finish line. As she raced, the adrenalin rushed through her body and her lips and hands became completely numb. Throughout the race, she set herself up exactly where she wanted to be for the next section. As she came to the last pitch, she reached 60 miles per hour – the fastest she’d ever gone on a mono-ski – and felt terrified. She crossed the finish line knowing she was safe at the bottom, and that it was the best run of her life.

When Sarah turned around to look at the scoreboard, her thoughts were confirmed. She was in first place. All of her training and preparation had paid off, and it became the highlight of her career. Later, as Sarah sat proudly on the podium to receive her medal for herself and her country, she felt a sense of accomplishment that comes only from doing one’s best. She vowed that someday she would give back that incredible feeling of accomplishment to others, and she knew she would succeed, for now she knew what she was capable of--