Josh Dueck
Quick Facts
Biography
Josh Dueck (born January 13, 1981) is a Canadian alpine skier. He won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in the men's slalom sit-ski event.
On February 3, 2012, Josh became the first person to perform a backflip on snow in a Sit Ski".
Personal life
Dueck was born on January 13, 1981 in Kimberley, British Columbia and now resides at Vernon, British Columbia. He was a former freestyle skier and coach before he became disabled. He became disabled when he overshot a demonstration jump in March 2004, breaking his back and left him as a T11 classification. He told reporters, "I knew deeply and intuitively that it was a bad idea".
Career
Vancouver 2010
Dueck has entered the 2010 Paralympics just 6 years after he became disabled. He won silver at the slalom for a time of 1:24.19. “I had a line in mind and I was able to stick to it. I took some chances, got lucky. Pretty sure I had some angels on my side for a few of those gates I was just clipping. Second is awesome.” the 33-year-old said.
Accomplishments
Josh Dueck Won both Silver and Gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia as well as a silver medal at the 2010 games in Vancouver. As an ace sit-skier, Dueck has also won gold in Mono Skier X at the 2011 X Games, bronze at the 2012 X Games and has won multiple IPC World Cup podiums and is the 2009 world downhill champion. To top it all off in February 2012, Dueck shot to international acclaim when he went upside-down and became the first sit-skier to complete a backflip on snow – earning him world-wide notoriety and an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He is a vocal advocate for workplace safety and accessibility in sport, and in 2013 gave a TED Talk about his experiences.