Race bib worn by Amy Purdy at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Games

Race bib worn by Amy Purdy at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Games.

At 19, Amy Purdy suffered septic shock as a result of meningococcal meningitis. Due to loss of circulation, she had to have both legs amputated below the knee. Just two years later, Purdy competed in the United States of America Snowboard Association’s National Snowboarding Championship and medaled in three events. In 2005 she co-founded Adaptive Action Sports, a nonprofit organization which helps disabled athletes become involved in action sports. Purdy also helps develop her prosthetics, allowing her to perform specialized tasks with enhance agility. Purdy was the only double amputee to compete in the 2014 Paralympics Games in Sochi, where she won a bronze medal in Snowboard Cross

The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960, a week after the Summer Olympics. This tradition of holding the games for athletes with disabilities after the Olympics continues today. These first games were for wheelchair users only, but in 1976 athletes with other disabilities were welcomed. In that same year adaptive athletes from the Winter Olympics were also embraced. The 1996 games in Atlanta marked a turning point as the first games to fully include the Paralympic athletes and events under the Team USA banner.

The 2014 Winter Paralympics, also known as the 11th Winter Paralympic Games were held in Sochi, Russia with 45 countries and 550 athletes participating. This was the first time Russia hosted the Paralympics with snowboarding making its debut. Five sports were featured with 72 events. American Amy Purdy won bronze in snowboard cross and the US men’s Paralympic sled hockey team beat Russia in the gold medal game 1-0. Russia topped the medal count with 80 but it was discovered that Russia’s team was supplied steroids by the state and as a result many athletes had their medals stripped.

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