Ski racing was Chris's first love, but love turned tragic when he broke his back on the hill. Paralyzed from the waist down, he refused to quit, instead becoming one of the most successful Paralympic athletes of all time.
Outside Magazine asked, “Could [Chris] be the World’s Greatest Athlete?,” People named him one of the “Fifty Most Beautiful People in the World,” and Skiing called him one of the “25 Greatest Skiers in North America.”
Chris’s story is one of dreams, perseverance, and discovering the magic within. Two months after the accident, he returned to college and three days short of the accident’s one-year anniversary he started skiing in a monoski. Less than two years after learning to monoski, Chirs qualified for the US Disabled Ski Team. He was the first Paralymipc finalist for the Sullivan Award--top amateur athlete in the country; became a World Champion in two sports--alpine skiing and wheelchair track; and won more Paralympic medals (12) than any male skier in history.
Chris retired after the 2004 Athens Games, his seventh Paralympics. Today, he continues to inspire audiences internationally with his transforming message about succeeding when life shakes you to the core. As an entertaining and motivating speaker, he has an extraordinary ability to empower individuals to find the strength and solutions necessary to achieve their destiny.
Chris has been a spokesman for the Hartford Financial Services Group, Time Warner Cable, DaimlerChrysler, Matrix Essentials, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and US Paralympics. He has appeared on 60 Minutes II, CNN International, Dateline, MTV Sports, The Today Show, and Oprah.