Christopher Devlin-Young (born December 26, 1962) is an American

alpine ski racer 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 ...

and two time

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

Champion, who resides in

Campton, New Hampshire Campton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,343 at the 2020 census. Campton, which includes the villages of Blair, Campton Hollow, Lower Campton and West Campton, is home to Blair State Forest and Live ...

. He competes as a

monoski A monoski is a single wide ski used for skiing on snow. The same boots, bindings, and poles are used as in alpine skiing. Unlike in snowboarding, both feet face forward, rather than sideways to the direction of travel. Similar equipment incl ...

er in the LW 12–1 class.

Career

Born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, Young was

paralyzed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...

in a plane crash in Alaska while serving in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

in 1982. He learned to ski at th
National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic
in 1986 as a "four-tracker," standing on two skis while using outriggers. He was named to the U.S. Disabled Ski Team in 1989 and competed in the 1990 Disabled Skiing World Championships in

Winter Park, Colorado Winter Park is a home rule municipality in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The permanent population was 1,033 at the 2020 census, although with 2,572 housing units within the town limits the seasonal population can be much higher. It ...

, winning a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

and two bronzes in the LW-1 class. Young missed the 1992 Winter Paralympic team but qualified for the 1994 Games in

Lillehammer, Norway Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, where he won

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the slalom. In 1995 Young began a two-year hiatus from racing to coach the New England Disabled Ski team at Loon Mtn. New Hampshire, and when he returned to the sport in 1997 it was as a

er. He missed the

1998 Winter Paralympics The , the seventh Paralympic Winter Games, were held alongside the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, from 5 to 14 March 1998. They were the first Paralympic Winter Games to be held in Asia. 571 athletes competed in Nagano; as ...

in Nagano, Japan but came back in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

with another

, this time in

super G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cros ...

, along with a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

in downhill. With that performance he became the first skier ever to win a Paralympic skiing gold medal in two different disability classes. He repeated his downhill performance in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, placing second behind teammate Kevin Bramble. In 2015, he won the Mono Skier X (X-Games), also becoming the oldest gold medalist in the history of the competition.Mark Kohlman,
X-Games Aspen 2015 photo highlights
, ''ESPN''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devlin-Young, Chris 1962 births Living people American male alpine skiers Paralympic alpine skiers for the United States Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in alpine skiing Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Paralympics Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Paralympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Paralympics X Games competitors People from Campton, New Hampshire 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen