As the Winter Paralympic Games comes to a close this weekend in Pyeongchang, Andy Goodwin honors two extraordinary athletes with these two beautiful portraits. If you’re having a bad day, hearing the stories of these two athletes will help put things in perspective.
Alana Nichols suffered a spinal cord injury at age 17 while attempting a back flip on her snowboard. Alana is the first American female to win gold medals at both Summer (Wheelchair Basketball) and Winter (Alpine Ski Racing) Olympic Games. “My story proves that given the right frame of mind, we can still reach our fullest potential as athletes, despite disabilities.”
Rico Roman is a member of the USA Sled Hockey Team who received a Purple Heart after loosing his left leg to an IED while serving on his 3rd tour of duty in Iraq. Rico helped his team take home the gold in 2014 and was back this year to defend his team’s title. “Life has a way of testing your grit, where it questions what you’re made of. Nothing’s easy, but at the end of the day we have to dig deep and push past those points.”
Creative: Gyro. Doug Kamp & Mark Sedlacek
Retouching: Jeff Whitlock