Colorado Snowboarder Wins 2nd Paralympic Gold After Injury

Sometimes the path back to gold means eating half your normal diet and trusting the process will pay off.

Noah Elliott knows this better than most. The 28-year-old Colorado Springs snowboarder just returned from the Milano Cortina Paralympics with his second gold medal in banked slalom and a silver in snowboard cross. It's a stunning comeback for an athlete who finished fourth in Beijing 2022 while competing on an unhealed leg wound.

Getting there meant some serious sacrifices. Last summer in Argentina, Elliott trained while eating only half his usual food to lose enough muscle mass so his leg could fit into his snowboarding prosthetic. The strategy worked perfectly when it mattered most.

Competing in the heart of Italy's Dolomites mountains, Elliott posted the two fastest times in the men's SB-LL1 banked slalom competition. He finished just one-tenth of a second ahead of Japan's Daichi Oguri. Fellow American Mike Schultz took bronze in the final race of his career.

Elliott's journey to Paralympic glory started in an unexpected place. Growing up in St. Charles, Missouri, he dreamed of becoming a professional skateboarder. At 15, he felt a pain in his leg that turned out to be cancer.

In 2015, he visited Steamboat Springs, Colorado for the first time through Sunshine Kids, a camp for children with cancer. He tried snowboarding and immediately fell in love with the mountains and the sport.

Two years later, Elliott had his left leg amputated above the knee due to osteosarcoma. Around that time, he met fellow cancer survivor and snowboarder Brenna Huckaby, who encouraged him to try racing. He made his Paralympic debut at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, winning gold in banked slalom and bronze in snowboard cross.

After his wins, Elliott moved to Steamboat and spent three years working for Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS). He helped teach adaptive snowboard lessons, giving back to the organization that first introduced him to the sport.

Why This Inspires

Elliott's story shows how setbacks can become setups for comebacks. After missing the podium in Beijing due to injury, he could have walked away. Instead, he doubled down on training, made difficult sacrifices, and came back stronger.

His time working with STARS between competitions reveals something even more powerful. Elliott didn't just chase medals. He built a life around lifting others up and sharing the sport that changed everything for him.

Now a five-time world champion and two-time Paralympic gold medalist, Elliott is already looking ahead to the 2030 Paralympic Games in the French Alps. But first, he's taking time to enjoy the moment, eat as much as he wants, and share his victory with everyone who supported him along the way.