Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||
Born | Cambridge, United Kingdom | 7 September 1991||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Sport | Snowboarding | ||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
Paralympic finals | 2018 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Updated on 12 March 2018 |
Owen Pick (born 7 September 1991 [1] ) is a British war veteran and snowboarder. Pick was injured in 2010 while serving in Afghanistan, losing his right leg. As part of his rehabilitation he was encouraged to try various sports. He subsequently found success in world para-snowboarding events, including representing his country in the Winter Olympics in his sport and as a flag bearer.
Pick is originally from Cambridge, United Kingdom. [2] He lost his right leg in January 2010 while serving with the British Army in Afghanistan. [3] He had joined the Royal Anglian Regiment straight after leaving school and was 18 when he stood on an improvised explosive device (IED). The explosion caused significant damage to his leg and doctors battled to save it until Pick decided in August 2011 to have it amputated below the knee. While recovering in hospital Pick watched snowboarding for the first time. [4] [5] The charity Blesma gave him the chance to try wakeboarding and snowboarding and he discovered his talent on the snow in Colorado. [4] [6] Pick was nominated by Blesma and subsequently won the Sporting Excellence prize at the Soldiering On Awards in 2017. [7]
Pick won a silver medal in the banked slalom SB-LL2 event at the 2017 Para Snowboard World Championships held at the Big White Ski Resort in Canada, followed by two podium finishes at the World Cup in La Molina, Spain. [8] [5]
He represented Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Paralympics, competing in Banked Slalom and SBX events alongside Ben Moore and James Barnes-Miller. Snowboarding was first added to the Paralympics in Sochi 2014, with 2018 being the first time that Great Britain has been represented. Pick describes his pride for being selected: "I feel honoured to be among the first British athletes competing in snowboard", as well as describing himself as the "least experienced snowboarder" in his category. [9] [2]
Pick was chosen to carry the flag at the opening ceremony, leading the 17-strong team out in the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. [10] Pick was eliminated in the quarter finals of the Men's snowboard cross SB-LL2. [11]
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.
Ben Tudhope is an Australian Paralympian who has competed in para-snowboard cross at three Winter Paralympics 2014 to 2022. His selection at the age of 14 at the 2014 Winter Paralympics meant that he became Australia's youngest Winter Paralympian, replacing Michael Milton. He was the youngest competitor at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games from any country. He also competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. At the 2022 Winter Paralympics, he won the bronze medal in the Men's Snowboard Cross SB-LL2.
Belgium sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, held between 7–16 March 2014. This was Belgium's eighth time participating in the Winter Paralympic Games. The Belgian delegation consisted of two athletes, Jasper Balcaen in alpine skiing, and Denis Colle, a snowboarder, which was considered a discipline of alpine skiing for these Paralympics. Their best performance in any event was 6th by Colle in the snowboard cross.
Carl Murphy is a New Zealand Para-snowboard cross racer who competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics.
The Snowboarding competition of the 2018 Winter Paralympics was held on 12 and 16 March 2018 at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Gangneung, South Korea.
Astrid Fina Paredes is a Spanish Paralympic snowboarder. Her greatest achievement has been the silver medal of the World Cup of snowboarding.
Brenna Huckaby is an American snowboarder. She competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics, winning gold medals in the snowboard cross and banked slalom, and she won gold and a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Paralympics. She is the first Paralympian to appear in the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated. Huckaby won the 2024 'Best Athlete with a Disability' ESPY Award.
Matti Suur-Hamari is a para-snowboarder. He is a three-time medalist, including two gold medals, at the Winter Paralympics.
Ben Moore is a British snowboarder. He is competing at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in snowboarding events for athletes with upper limb disabilities having lost the use of his left arm after a motorbike accident in 2006.
James Barnes-Miller is a British snowboarder from Isle of Thanet. He competes in snowboarding events for athletes with upper limb disabilities after being born with an incomplete right arm. He participated at the 2018 Winter Paralympics,
Cécile Hernandez is a French para-snowboarder and four-time Paralympic medallist, with a gold medal from Beijing 2022, a silver medal from Sochi 2014 and both a silver and a bronze from PyeongChang 2018. She competes for the teams Les Angles and France Douanes, as well as the French national Paralympic team; outside sport, she is a customs officer journalist and writer.
Lisa Bunschoten is a Dutch para-snowboarder. She won a silver and a bronze medal in snowboarding at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.
Patrick Mayrhofer is Austria's most successful Paralympic Snowboarder. He won Silver in the Banked Slalom at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Gold in the Banked Slalom at the 2015 World Para Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, Spain, and Silver in the Banked Slalom at the 2019 World Para Snowboard World Championships in Pyhä, Finland. In 2015 he was honored as the Paralympic Austrian Sports Personality of the Year.
Mike Shea is a retired American para-snowboarder. He won a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in the inaugural Snowboard cross event. At the World Para Snowboard Championships in the LL2 division, Shea won gold in the 2015 banked slalom event and bronze in the 2017 snowboard cross event. In 2014 and 2015, Shea was nominated for the Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award. Shea retired from snowboarding in 2020.
Snowboarding was one of the competitions at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China. In total, eight medal events were held.
Lisa DeJong is a Canadian retired para-snowboarder who competed in the SB-LL2 category. She won Canada's first Winter Paralympic medal at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, and retired on October 10, 2023.
Oliver Hill is a British para-snowboarder and former motorcycle racer. He competes in snowboarding events for athletes with lower limb disabilities. Hill came third in the banked slalom events at the 2022 Winter Paralympics and 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships.
Sandrine Hamel is a Canadian para-snowboarder who competes in the SB-LL2 category.
Sun Qi is a Chinese para-snowboarder who competes in the SB-LL2 category.