No quitter, Paralympian Alana Nichols aims to start a business for the disabled
For Alana Nichols, that isn’t a throwaway remark. Sure, she has a master’s degree in kinesiology (the study of the mechanics of human movement), but her interest is much more personal than it is academic. In 2000, when she was 17, Nichols, a lifelong sports enthusiast and self-described risk-taker, attempted a back flip while snowboarding in Colorado. She over-rotated and landed back-first on a rock, breaking her spine and becoming paralyzed from the waist down.
“I do my best, on a daily basis, to better understand what people with disabilities are capable of doing.”
For most people, it would have been game over, but not for Nichols. She changed sports and kept competing. Today, at 29, she’s one of the world’s top athletes in wheelchair basketball and adaptive skiing. She has won gold, silver, and bronze medals in the two sports, and she is the only woman with Gold Medals in both summer and winter events in the Paralympic Games.
“I’ve been blessed with a gritty toughness,” says Nichols. “I was raised by my grandparents, and they gave me the freedom to pursue what I wanted to do. But they also taught me that I bore personal responsibility for my decisions. When I broke my back, I realized that it would be up to me to get back into the game.”
A duel-sport superstar
As for her competitive sport choices, wheelchair basketball was a natural choice for Nichols, as she had played conventional basketball in junior high and high school. She was introduced to the wheelchair sport while an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico. She quickly became a top player, which earned her a wheelchair basketball scholarship to complete her bachelor’s degree in education at the University of Arizona.
“People are often surprised by wheelchair basketball because it’s so violent and has lots of contact,” says Nichols. “It’s a great sport.” She qualified for the U.S. team in 2004 while still at Arizona, then won a Gold Medal at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
But Nichols also dreamed of skiing again. She learned of the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Colorado while still an undergraduate. After completing her master’s degree at the University of Alabama in 2008, she “took a big risk and moved to the mountains. I was immediately surrounded by some of the best ski racers in the world.”
Adaptive skiing includes most conventional skiing events, but instead of standing on two skis, the athlete perches on a seat that is connected to a single ski by a support. As with wheelchair basketball, Nichols quickly became a top competitor. She holds numerous medals, including two Gold Medals, a Silver, and a Bronze from the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games.
Finding local support
Following her injury, Nichols’ support team included small businesses in her home town of Farmington, New Mexico. One of them, Three Rivers Trucking, is owned by the parents of a high school friend. “They were there for me financially when I needed it most,” says Nichols. “They sent me to my first summer camp after my injury. Each year, they give me $10,000 for my ski racing career. I couldn’t have gone to the Vancouver Games in 2010 without their support.
“I’ve watched this company grow, and it’s kind of like watching an athlete train,” she says. “You start small, you work hard, and over time you become an achiever and get noticed.”
Another local business that helped her out was San Juan Casing Services, an oil field service company, Nichols adds. “The whole community came through, and I had many small contributions,” she says. ”I also received lots of support because of local newspapers and magazines telling my story.”
Building on her experience
Nichols is already looking ahead to what she will do after retiring from competition. Most ideas involve a foundation or company dealing with sports or disabilities. For athletes, however, retirement can be on its own timetable.
“I have just my arms to work with,” Nichols says. “Unfortunately, I’ve taken a couple of spills that injured the rotator cuffs in both shoulders. After the London Games this summer, I have to switch gears and go back to the mountains to prepare for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Following that, however, it may be time to pursue my career as a businesswoman. But we’ll see what happens over the next two years. I don’t fly by the seat of my pants, but I do like to go with the flow.”
No comments:
Post a Comment