Alexi Salamone (born 17 June 1987 in

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

, Russia,

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

) is a

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 ...

ice sledge hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitat ...

player from the United States.

Early life

Salamone was born near

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...

, the site of a

nuclear accident A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility. Examples include lethal effects to individuals, lar ...

that took place 14 months prior to his birth. He was born with deformed legs, both of which were amputated at the Children's Institute of Prosthetics in Moscow when he was four years old. Orphaned, he was adopted by the Salamones, a couple from

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, and moved to the United States at the age of six.

Ice sledge hockey

Salamone was introduced to ice sports by the

Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped The Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped (SABAH), also known as Skating Athletes Bold at Heart, is an American non-profit educational corporation which helps children, youth, and adults with all types of disabilities. Founded in 197 ...

(S.A.B.A.H.). He has been a member of the U.S. national sledge hockey team since 2003, twice representing his country at the

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

. 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 ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy, Salamone was part of the American team that won the bronze medal. The United States featured in Group B of the tournament and won two of their three group games; 3–0 against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and 6–1 over

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. A 1–2 defeat in the match against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

meant the USA faced Group A winners

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in the semi-finals. The team lost that match 2–4 but went on to beat Germany 4–3 in the bronze medal match. As a part of the United States national team he won a bronze medal at the 2008 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships, held in Marlborough, USA and won a gold medal at the 2009 Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

, Czech Republic. In 2010 he competed at his second

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, where USA won gold. They beat Japan 2–0 in the final. Salamone scored the first goal in the final and overall had four goals and four assists in five matches. He was not selected for the 2014 Paralympic Games.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salamone, Alexi 1987 births Living people American sledge hockey players Paralympic sledge hockey players for the United States Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Ice sledge hockey players at the 2006 Winter Paralympics Ice sledge hockey players at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Paralympic medalists in sledge hockey