Brenna Huckaby

Brenna Huckaby
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1996-01-22) January 22, 1996 (age 28)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana[1]
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1]
Weight140 lb (64 kg)[1]
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportSnowboarding
Event(s)Snowboard cross
Banked slalom
Coached byLane Clegg
Medal record
Women's para snowboarding
Representing  United States
Winter Paralympics
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Banked slalom
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing Banked slalom
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Beijing Snowboard cross
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 La Molina Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2017 Big White Banked slalom
Gold medal – first place 2017 Big White Snowboard cross
Silver medal – second place 2015 La Molina Banked slalom

Brenna Huckaby (born January 22, 1996)[1] is an American snowboarder. She competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics, winning gold medals in the snowboard cross and banked slalom, and she won gold and a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Paralympics. She is the first Paralympian to appear in the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated. Huckaby won the 2024 'Best Athlete with a Disability' ESPY Award.

Early life and education

Huckaby has two brothers.[1] She was a nationally ranked gymnast.[2][3] She learned to snowboard at age 15 at the National Ability Center.[3] While still in school, Huckaby moved to Utah to pursue snowboarding.[3]

Snowboarding career

Huckaby won her first world championship in snowboarding in 2015.[3] She won world championships in both snowboard-cross and banked slalom in 2017.[1] Huckaby is the first Paralympian to appear in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue.[4]

She competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics, winning gold medals in both the snowboard cross and banked slalom.[5]

She won the gold medal in the women's dual banked slalom SB-LL1 event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway.[6][7] She also won the silver medal in the women's snowboard cross SB-LL1 event.[8][9]

Huckaby is classified as a SB-LL1 snowboarder. In January 2022, she won a court decision to allow her to compete at the 2022 Winter Paralympics; this was previously not permitted as there are no SB-LL1 events for female snowboarders in the snowboarding program.[10][11] She won the gold medal in the women's banked slalom SB-LL2 event.[12] She also won the bronze medal in the women's snowboard cross SB-LL2 event.[13][14]

Personal life

She is married to Tristan Clegg. Huckaby gave birth to her daughter Lilah in 2016.[2][3] She gave birth to her second daughter Sloan in 2020.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Brenna Huckaby". Team USA. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Breakey, Sharlene (December 27, 2017). "Para Snowboarder Brenna Huckaby Shares Her Proudest Moment Before the 2018 Paralympics". Parents. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Q&A withsnowboarder Brenna Huckaby". NBC Olympics. December 19, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  4. ^ Williams, Doug (March 6, 2018). "Increased Interest In Paralympic Games Shines A Light On Athletes". Team USA. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  5. ^ "Brenna Huckaby". Athlete's profile. Pyeongchang 2018. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Lisa Bunschoten trails, falls, recovers and wins third straight world title". Paralympic.org. January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  7. ^ Houston, Michael (January 14, 2022). "United States win three snowboard golds at World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  8. ^ "Canada's Tyler Turner beats 'best of the best' for first World Championships gold". January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Burke, Patrick (January 21, 2022). "Pedersen clinches third gold of World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Pavitt, Michael (January 21, 2022). "IPC "surprised" as Huckaby wins court appeal to compete at Beijing 2022 Paralympics". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  11. ^ "IPC surprised and disappointed by court's Para snowboard decision". Paralympic.org. January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "Snowboarding Results Book" (PDF). 2022 Winter Paralympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  13. ^ Burke, Patrick (March 7, 2022). "Hernandez takes snowboard cross gold at Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  14. ^ "Paralympian Brenna Huckaby wins bronze after a legal fight to compete in the games". npr. March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2022.