Josh Dueck (born January 13, 1981) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

. He won a silver medal at the

2010 Winter Paralympics ) , 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 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.Inspirational and Amazing Freeski Backflip Done by Paraplegic Athlete Josh Dueck
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Personal life

Dueck was born on January 13, 1981, 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 ...

and now resides at

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearby ...

. 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

Dueck won both silver and gold medals at the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an ...

in Sochi, Russia, as well as a silver medal at the

in Vancouver. As a sit-skier, he has also won gold in mono skier X at the 2011 Winter X Games, bronze at the 2012 Winter X Games, and has won multiple IPC World Cup podiums and is the 2009 world downhill champion. In February 2012, Dueck became the first sit-skier to complete a backflip on snow,– earning him world-wide notoriety and an appearance on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

''. He is an advocate for workplace safety and accessibility in sport, and in 2013 gave a

TED Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

about his experiences.

References

External links

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YouTube: Josh Dueck's Story

YouTube: Behind the Drive: Josh Dueck
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dueck, Josh 1981 births Living people Canadian male alpine skiers Paralympic alpine skiers of Canada Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic medalists in alpine skiing Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Alpine skiers at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Paralympics X Games athletes