 Purdy in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Amy Michelle Purdy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | November 7, 1979 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Daniel Gale (m. 2015) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | amypurdy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Amy Michelle Purdy (born November 7, 1979) is an American actress, model, para-snowboarder, motivational speaker, fashion designer and author. Purdy is a 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist, 2018 Paralympics silver medalist, and co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports.
Purdy was born in Las Vegas in 1979. When she was 19 years old, she contracted Neisseria meningitidis, a form of bacterial meningitis. [1] The disease affected Purdy's circulatory system when the infection led to septic shock; [2] both of her legs had to be amputated below the knee, she lost both kidneys along with hearing in her left ear, [3] and her spleen had to be removed. [1] Doctors gave Purdy a 2% chance of survival. [4] Two years later, she received a kidney transplant from her father. [1]
Purdy began snowboarding seven months after she received her prosthetic legs. About a year after her legs were amputated, Purdy finished third in a snowboarding competition at Mammoth Mountain. Subsequently, she received a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a non-profit organization. Through this grant, Purdy was able to compete in several snowboarding competitions in the U.S.
In 2003, Purdy was recruited by the CAF as spokesperson, and she moved to San Diego to be closer to the CAF headquarters. In San Diego, Purdy continued her pre-amputee profession as a massage therapist. She also became involved in the modeling and acting industry. In February 2003, Purdy played a model in a Madonna music video. [1] Later in 2003, Purdy started working for Freedom Innovations, a prosthetic feet manufacturer, as its "Amputee Advocate".
Purdy has gone on to co-found her own non-profit organization, Adaptive Action Sports, [5] a chapter of Disabled Sports USA [6] for individuals with physical disabilities who want to get involved in action sports (snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing) or art and music. [1] [7]
In 2005, Purdy made her film debut in What's Bugging Seth , a movie by Eli Steele. [8]
Purdy was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25 in 2014, [9] and one of Oprah's SuperSoul 100 visionaries and influential leaders in 2016. [10]
Purdy retired from competitive sports in March 2022. [11]
In 2012, Purdy and her now husband Daniel Gale participated on the 21st season of The Amazing Race . After nearly winning the first leg of the race, they were the second team eliminated and finished in 10th place out of 11 teams. [12]
On February 5, 2014, Purdy was in a one-hour special on NBC television titled How to Raise an Olympian. The program, hosted by Meredith Vieira, chronicled the journeys of seven U.S. Olympians and included interviews with parents and coaches along with home video and photos from each athlete's childhood. Purdy went on to win the bronze medal in Snowboard Cross in the 2014 Winter Paralympics.[ citation needed ]
In 2015, Purdy was featured in a Super Bowl advertisement for the Toyota Camry. The advert features Purdy snowboarding, dancing, and adjusting her prosthetic legs with a voiceover of Muhammad Ali's "How Great I Am" speech. [13]
On December 30, 2014, Purdy released a memoir entitled On My Own Two Feet: From Losing My Legs To Learning The Dance Of Life, published by HarperCollins.
Purdy was a contestant on season 18 of Dancing with the Stars . Paired with five-time champion Derek Hough, Purdy was the first double amputee contestant to ever appear on the show. [14]
| Week # | Dance/song | Judges' score | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Counting Stars" | 8 | 8 | 8 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Swing/"Swing Set" (Jurassic 5) | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 3 | Contemporary/"Human" | 9 | 9/9* | 9 | Safe |
| 4 | Salsa/"Brand New" | 9 | 8/8* | 9 | No Elimination |
| 5 | Waltz/"So This Is Love" | 9 | 9/10* | 9 | Safe |
| 6 | Jive/"Shout" | 9 | 10*/9 | 10 | Safe |
| 7 | Rumba/"Light My Fire" Team Loca (Freestyle)/"Livin' la Vida Loca" | 9 10 | 9*/9 10*/9 | 9 10 | Safe |
| 8 | Argentine Tango/"Heart Upon My Sleeve" Jive Dance Duel/"Ain't Nothing Wrong with That" | 10 9 | 10/10* 10/10* | 10 10 | Safe |
| 9 Semi-finals | Quickstep/"You Can't Hurry Love" Jazz/"Too Darn Hot" | 10 9 | 9/10* 10/10* | 10 10 | Safe |
| 10 Finals | Salsa/"Ran Kan Kan" Freestyle/"Dare You" Argentine Tango & Cha-Cha-Cha Fusion/"Rather Be" | 10 10 10 | 10 9 10 | 10 10 10 | Runner-Up |
At the 2016 Summer Paralympics' opening ceremony, Purdy made an appearance performing a dance routine with what was promoted as a "surprise partner": a KUKA robotic arm. [15]
In 2018, Purdy was back on Dancing with the Stars Season 27 dancing with Tinashe & Brandon in a trio dance
Sarah Reinertsen is an American Paralympic triathlete and former track athlete. She was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, a bone-growth disorder; her affected leg was amputated above the knee at age seven.
Sandra "Sandy" Dukat is an American Paralympic athlete. Born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, she had her right leg amputated above the knee at the age of four. She has competed internationally in alpine skiing, swimming and triathlon. As of February 2013, she holds the marathon world record for above-knee amputee women.
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter Olympic Games and hosted in the same city. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) oversees the Games. Medals are awarded in each event: with gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third, following the tradition that the Olympic Games began in 1904.
Aimee Mullins is an American athlete, actress, and public speaker. She was born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs beneath the knee. She is the first amputee to compete against nondisabled athletes in National Collegiate Athletic Association events, and competed in the Paralympics in 1996 in Atlanta. In 1999, she began modeling, and, in 2002, she began an acting career. She has periodically spoken at conferences, including TED Talks.
Amy Palmiero-Winters is a below-knee amputee, long-distance runner, and triathlete. She holds eleven world records in various events. In 2010, she was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States and the ESPN ESPY Award as the top female athlete with a disability in the world.
T42 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to athletes with single above the knee amputations or a disability that is comparable. This class includes ISOD classified A2 and A9 competitors.
T43 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to athletes with "Double below knee amputation or similar disability." It includes ISOD classified athletes from the A4 and A9 classes.
T44 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to "Single below knee amputation or an athlete who can walk with moderately reduced function in one or both legs." It includes ISOD A4 and A9 classes.
Para-snowboarding classification is the classification system for para-snowboarding. The sport originally called Adaptive Snowboard is now practiced by hundreds of athletes around the world. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) defines three classes: SB-LL for athletes with a physical impairment affecting one or both legs, and SB-UL for athletes with a physical impairment affecting one or both arms who compete standing. The sport made its official Winter Paralympic debut in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
Evan Strong is an American Para-snowboard cross racer who began his career in 2008. He is the gold medalist in para snowboard cross at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia and led the USA team to a sweep of the podium. He went on to represent Team USA in the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and won a silver medal in the banked slalom event.
Bibian Mentel-Spee was a Dutch three-fold Winter Paralympics gold-medalist, and five-times world champion para-snowboarding athlete. Mentel won the Paralympic gold medal in the snowboard cross discipline in the 2014 and 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, as well as in the banked slalom in 2018, despite battling cancer nine times since the beginning of the century. She won her 2018 medals at age 45.
T47 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics primarily for competitors with a below elbow or wrist amputation or impairment. T47 is a classification for track events, but unlike the other T40 to T46 classifications, it has no equivalent F47 classification for field events. The amputee sports equivalent class is ISOD the A8 class. People in this class can have injuries due to overuse of their remaining upper limb.
Amputee sports classification is a disability specific sport classification used for disability sports to facilitate fair competition among people with different types of amputations. This classification was set up by International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), and is currently managed by IWAS who ISOD merged with in 2005. Several sports have sport specific governing bodies managing classification for amputee sportspeople.
A2 is an amputee sport classification used by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD).for people with acquired or congenital amputations. A2 sportspeople have one leg amputated above the knee. Their amputations impact their sport performance, including having balance issues, increased energy costs, higher rates of oxygen consumption, and issues with their gait.
A3 is an amputee sport classification used by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD) for people with acquired or congenital amputations. A3 classified sportspeople have both legs amputated below knee. Their amputations impact their sport performance, including having balance issues, increased energy costs, higher rates of oxygen consumption, and issues with their gait. Sports people in this class are eligible to participate in include athletics, swimming, sitting volleyball, archery, weightlifting, badminton, lawn bowls, sitzball and wheelchair basketball.
A4 is an amputee sport classification used by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD).for people with acquired or congenital amputations. People in this class have one leg amputated below the knee. Their amputations impact their sport performance, including having balance issues, increased energy costs, higher rates of oxygen consumption, and issues with their gait. Sports people in this class are eligible to participate in include athletics, swimming, sitting volleyball, archery, weightlifting, wheelchair basketball, amputee basketball, amputee football, lawn bowls, and sitzball.
A1 is an amputee sport classification used by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD) for people with acquired or congenital amputations. This class is for sportspeople who have both legs amputated above the knee. Their amputations impact their sport performance, including having balance issues, increased energy costs, higher rates of oxygen consumption, and issues with their gait. Sports people in this class are eligible to participate in include athletics, swimming, sitting volleyball, archery, weightlifting, badminton, lawn bowls, sitzball and wheelchair basketball.
Mike Minor is an American athlete, World Champion snowboarder, and a Paralympian who competed for the United States at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He won gold in Snowboarding at the 2018 Winter Paralympics – Men's banked slalom and bronze in Men's snowboard cross division SB-UL. During his childhood, Minor was given a prosthetic part for his right arm. He started skiing at the age of two and snowboarding at the age of seven. He was nominated for the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award in 2017.
Cathy Gentile-Patti is an American para-alpine skier. She represented the United States in alpine skiing at the 1992 Winter Paralympics held in Tignes and Albertville, France.
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