Hey guys, I wanted to open up about the “butterflies” I had before the races. It’s all to be expected; to be in that huge stage, huge courses, cameras everywhere, the atmosphere is electric, maybe you couldn’t tell from looking at me (dancing with the coach, trying to keep my mind relaxed) but my legs were SHAKING! Take for instance the Banked Slalom race: I did well on the last day of training pre race, was relaxed, put in some good & fast...
A couple months ago Coach Mancha & I were re-living our journey from Canada to the Paralympics. It was sooo long that I felt like writing this post, so I wouldn’t forget. Number 1. For context, during Covid, China required PCR & rapid tests taken 72 hours apart, from specific approved laboratories. We were in the middle of nowhere in a little mountain town, so getting to their requested labs for testing required taking a taxi or shuttle, an...
Hi guys, Thought I would share this story, otherwise I may forget in the future. Sometimes things go so wrong it’s almost funny, but not in the moment… It was February 2023, I had a photoshoot for Adidas in Portland, Oregon -exciting stuff! A great storm aligned w my trip, so I went earlier to get a day of snowboarding in Mount Hood (about 1,5 hs drive). I’ll take every opportunity to train I can get, specially with this new board I...
Hey guys, As an athlete, last 2 weeks were frustrating; I missed a couple amazing races -including the World Championships I was supposed to compete. It’s tough seeing my friends/rivals posts and YouTube clips of the races I would/could have been in and didn’t go. After Finland I was feeling great, so fit and so ready. I don’t get to these places going all out on the race course, flying high & far on the big jumps —it’s a build up; so...
Hey guys, updating everyone on my season; the original plan changed twice because of lack of snow in Europe. So frustrating! They do have snow, but not enough to build the courses (they need a lot!)From Finland we would go to Spain for Worlds; so when that got postponed to March, we turned our focus to a World Cup & test event for the Paralympics 2026 in Cortina, Italy. We’d extend the trip for another week. I was on “cloud...
Hello team and supporters, I’m just back from an adventure in Finland. My second time there, a place in the Arctic Circle, in Northern Finland called Pyhä. It’s magical… and this time it wasn’t so cold, it’s been quite an off winter for European standards. Last time I was there I had a hard time on this race course and it was very humbling. That’s exactly why I came back, to get stronger as an athlete. It was very positive...
Greetings friends & family! Winter training has been going well, it’s the time of year I increase my training load with the goal of being at 100% by the time my races come. It’s been a lot of balance board training, weights, a bit of running & swimming and making sure I recover well. I went twice to the snow for specific training , and in early January I’ll be off to Finland (World Cup), Spain (Worlds) & potentially Italy (test...
Hello friends, Today I was thinking about the training & racing that happened in Big White, Canada, prior to flying to Beijing for the Paralympics; then thought I would tell the story… My coach Mancha flew in from Portugal and we met in Canada. First days were laser focused for the races at hand (2), which in themselves were incredible. 1st race I got an unexpected 2nd place (!) —anything can happen on Snowboard Cross. That gave me so much confidence for...
My season is bit different, in a way that my races run mostly during the northern hemisphere winter. Even though I blogged every month, it’s worth mentioning that this was the most meaningful sports year / season of my life: I made it to the Paralympics!!! The amount of work that went into me making it to winter Paralympics in Beijing 2022 shouldn’t be overlooked, it took years of hard work, sweat and money. Racing around the world is not cheap. Equipment...
(Preface: My post in March simply vanished from the blog; I’m re-doing this since I haven’t shared my Beijing experience. ——————————————————“You only get one life, and I’m fortunate to still have mine.”We did it guys, I am officially a Paralympian:)))It was about 2 weeks of pure magic and fun moments lived in China. Of course, with the nerves & anxiety & expectations that come with racing as well —all expected. The training camp prior to the Games was crucial, and...
