Alana Jane Nichols (born March 21, 1983) is an American

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...

player and

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

Childhood

Nichols was born in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and when she was nine months old, her father was killed by a drunk driver. Because her mother was struggling to raise Nichols and three other siblings, Nichols and her older sister, Jovan, were sent to their grandparents in

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

. Growing up, Nichols spent winters

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. During one such snowboarding trip in 2000, she attempted a back flip but over-rotated and landed back-first on a rock. When the accident occurred, Nichols was taken by helicopter to the

San Juan Regional Medical Center San Juan Regional Medical Center is a 198 bed, Level III Trauma Center that provides healthcare to the Four Corners region of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), comm ...

and it took eight hours of surgery to reconstruct her back with two rods and three pins. The injury broke her T10/11 vertebrae and left her paralyzed from the waist down.

College years

Nine months after her accident, Nichols headed to

the University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

to join her sister. It was there, in 2002, that Nichols was introduced to

and quickly excelled at the sport. After discovering the sport Nichols transferred to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, where she studied special education rehab and school psychology. She later attended

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...

at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

, eventually graduating with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

Olympic career

Nichols is a five-time

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

(

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

) and a six-time medalist (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze). After serving as an alternate for the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

women's team at the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, was named to the national team in 2005, and helped the team win a silver medal in the 2006

Wheelchair Basketball World Championship The IWBF World Wheelchair Basketball Championship is an international wheelchair basketball competition contested by the men's and the women's national teams of the members of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation ( IWBF), the sport' ...

. Her Paralympic debut came in 2008 when, as part of the U.S. women's team, she won a gold medal in wheelchair basketball at the Beijing games. One month after the Beijing Paralympics, Nichols moved from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

to begin training in alpine skiing. She had tried adaptive skiing in 2002, but at the time had chosen to focus on basketball instead. After watching the skiing events at the

2006 Winter Paralympics The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games ( it, Giochi paralimpici invernali del 2006), the ninth Paralympic Winter Games, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were ...

and learning of the

National Sports Center for the Disabled The National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that began in 1970 providing ski lessons for children with amputations. Today, the NSCD is one of the largest therapeutic recreation organizations in the w ...

(NSCD) in

Winter Park, Colorado Winter Park is a home rule municipality in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The permanent population was 999 at the 2010 census, although with 2,572 housing units within the town limits the seasonal population can be much higher. It is ho ...

, she decided to pursue the sport as soon as the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

were completed. She began practicing with the NSCD program and showed quick improvement. Her first win came in February 2009 when she beat Paralympic gold medalist

Laurie Stephens Laurie Stephens (born March 5, 1984) is an alpine monoskier who has spina bifida. She has won multiple medals for the United States at the Paralympics. She has also had success at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup. Career Laurie Stephens started ...

to take first in the

super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event d ...

at a North American Cup event in

Kimberley, British Columbia Kimberley is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada along Highway 95A between the Purcell and Rocky Mountains. Kimberley was named in 1896 after the Kimberley mine in South Africa. From 1917 to 2001, it was the home to the world's largest ...

. She won the downhill event and placed third in the

super combined Combined is an event in alpine ski racing. A traditional combined competition consists of one run of downhill and two runs of slalom, each discipline runs on separate days. The winner is the skier with the fastest aggregate time. (Until the 1990s ...

at the U.S. Adaptive Nationals later that year. In March 2010, she completed her first IPC Alpine World Cup season with a first place in the downhill, second in super combined, and third in

. Later in March, she competed in the

2010 Winter Paralympic Games ) , nations = 44 , athletes = 506 , events = 64 in 5 sports , opening = 12 March , closing = 21 March , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Zach Beaumont , stadium = BC Place , winter_pr ...

in Vancouver, BC, Canada where she won two gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze medal. She placed first in the downhill and the giant slalom, second in the super-G, and third in the super combined. Nichols is the first American woman with gold medals in the summer and winter games. In 2012, Nichols competed in the London Paralympics, where the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

women's wheelchair basketball team placed fourth. Leading up to the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in

Sochi, Russia Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Nichols tore three ligaments while training. Despite this injury, she was able to recover and earn a silver medal in the downhill. In 2016, Nichols made her debut in the paracanoe at the Paralympic Games Rio.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Alana 1983 births Living people People from Farmington, New Mexico People with paraplegia American women's wheelchair basketball players Arizona Wildcats athletes University of Alabama alumni Paralympic wheelchair basketball players of the United States Wheelchair basketball players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics American female alpine skiers Paralympic alpine skiers of the United States Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Wheelchair category Paralympic competitors Sportspeople from New Mexico Medalists at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paracanoeists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in alpine skiing Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball 21st-century American women 20th-century American women