United States at the 2018 Winter Paralympics facts for kids

Flag of the United States of America.

The United States sent a team of athletes to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. This big event brings together top athletes with disabilities from around the world. The U.S. team competed in several exciting winter sports. These included para-alpine skiing, para-Nordic skiing, para-snowboarding, sledge hockey, and wheelchair curling. The team was made up of 63 talented people.

Before the Games, athletes had to qualify. For example, the World Para Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals in February 2018 helped decide who would join the U.S. team. The team was officially announced on February 20, 2018. In early races, American athletes showed their strength. Andrew Kurka won a gold medal in men's downhill sitting and a silver in men's Super-G sitting. Kendall Gretsch won two gold medals in para-Nordic skiing events. Daniel Cnossen also earned a gold and a silver medal in para-Nordic skiing.

Team USA: Our Athletes

The United States had the largest team at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. With 63 athletes, it was bigger than any other country's team. Some athletes, like those from New Zealand and Sweden, were named to their teams early, by November 2017.

Here is a list of the amazing athletes who were part of Team USA for the 2018 Games:

Medals Won by Team USA

Team USA earned several medals at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. Here's how they did:

Medal Name Sport Event Date 1 Gold Andrew Kurka Alpine skiing Men's downhill, sitting March 10 1 Gold Daniel Cnossen Biathlon Men's 7.5 km, sitting March 10 1 Gold Kendall Gretsch Biathlon Women's 6 km, sitting March 10 1 Gold Kendall Gretsch Cross-country skiing Women's 12 km, sitting March 11 2 Silver Oksana Masters Biathlon Women's 6 km, sitting March 10 2 Silver Daniel Cnossen Cross-country skiing Men's 15 km, sitting March 11 3 Bronze Laurie Stephens Alpine skiing Women's downhill, sitting March 10 3 Bronze Oksana Masters Cross-country skiing Women's 12 km, sitting March 11

Medals by sport Sport Total Biathlon 2 1 0 3 Alpine skiing 1 0 1 2 Total 3 1 1 5 Medals by date Day Date Total 1 March 10 3 1 1 5 2 March 11 0 0 0 0 Total 3 1 1 5 Medals by gender Gender Total Percentage Female 1 1 1 3 60.0% Male 2 0 0 2 40.0% Mixed 0 0 0 0 0.0% Total 3 1 1 5 100%

Para-alpine Skiing

How Athletes Qualified

The World Para Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals in February 2018 were very important. They were the last chance for skiers to qualify for the U.S. Paralympic team. Athletes needed to earn enough points in at least one race during the 2017-18 season. The final team was announced on February 20, 2018.

Race Schedule

Alpine skiing events included downhill, Super-G, super combined, slalom, and giant slalom. Races took place from March 10 to March 18. Skiers had practice runs before the main events.

Key Results

In the women's downhill sitting race, Laurie Stephens of the United States won a bronze medal. For the men's downhill sitting race, Andrew Kurka of the United States won the gold medal! He also won a silver medal in the men's Super-G sitting race.

Athlete	Event	Class	Run 1		Run 2		Total
			Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Andrew Kurka	Downhill, sitting	LW12-1	1:24.11
Stephen Lawler		LW12-1	1:32.82	18
Andrew Haraghey	Downhill, standing	LW1	1:32.84	18
Mark Bathum Guide: Cade Yamamoto	Downhill, visually impaired	B3	DNF
Kevin Burton Guide: Brandon Powel-Ashby		colspan=4	1:31.35	7
Jasmin Bambur	Super-G, sitting	LW11	DNF
Josh Elliot		LW12-2	DNF
Andrew Kurka		LW12-1	1:26.89
Stephen Lawler		LW12-1	1:38.33	22
Tyler Walker		LW12-1	1:29.10	12
Andrew Haraghey	Super-G, standing	LW1	1:34.19	24
Jamie Stanton		LW4	1:31.31	17
Thomas Walsh		LW4	1:30.38	13
Mark Bathum Guide: Cade Yamamoto	Super-G, visually impaired	B3	1:35.97	11
Kevin Burton Guide: Brandon Powel-Ashby		B2	1:32.42	9

Athlete	Event	Class	Run 1		Run 2		Total
			Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Laurie Stephens	Downhill, sitting	LW12-1	1:35.80
Stephanie Jallen	Downhill, standing	LW9-1	1:40.64	8
Ally Kunkel		LW6/8-2	DNF
Melanie Schwartz		LW2	1:39.38	7
Danelle Umstead Guide: Rob Umstead	Downhill, visually impaired	B2	DNF
Laurie Stephens	Super-G, sitting	LW12-1	1:36.98	5
Stephanie Jallen	Super-G, standing	LW9-1	1:44.30	10
Ally Kunkel		LW6/8-2	1:40.74	7
Melanie Schwartz		LW2	1:42.77	8
Staci Mannella Guide: Sadie De Baun	Super-G, visually impaired	B3	1:44.25	10
Danelle Umstead Guide: Rob Umstead		B2	1:38.91	6

Para-Nordic Skiing

Athlete Qualification

Athletes qualified for para-Nordic skiing through events like the World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup. These events took place in places like Canmore, Canada, and Oberried, Germany, in late 2017 and early 2018. The final deadline for countries to name their teams was February 23, 2018.

Featured Skiers

• Danelle Umstead is a blind skier who competes with her husband, Rob Umstead, as her guide. They call their team "Vision4Gold." Danelle is also a mother competing at the Games.
• Oksana Masters was born in Ukraine in 1989, near the Chernobyl site. Her disability was caused by radiation from the 1986 accident. When she was seven, she was adopted by an American woman who encouraged her to try sports. Oksana first competed in adapted rowing at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Later, she switched to para-Nordic skiing.

Event Schedule

Cross-country skiing events were held on March 10, 11, 14, 17, and 18. Biathlon events took place on March 10, 13, and 16.

Race Results

Biathlon

Dan Cnossen won the first gold medal for the United States in biathlon. He won the men's 7.5 km sitting race.

Athlete	Event	Class	Factor	Real time	Misses	Time	Rank
Daniel Cnossen	7.5 km, sitting	LW12	100 %	23:49.7	1 (0+1)	23:49.7
Aaron Pike		LW11.5	96 %	27:20.9	3 (3+0)	26:15.3	12
Bryan Price		LW11.5	96 %	30:05.0	1 (1+0)	28:52.8	20
Andrew Soule		LW12	100 %	25:08.3	3 (3+0)	25:08.3	8
Jeremy Wagner		LW11.5	96 %	29:43.8	1 (1+0)	28:32.4	19
Ruslan Reiter	7.5 km, standing	LW8	96 %	23:52.9	4 (2+2)	22:55.6	16

In the women's 6 km biathlon sitting race, Kendall Gretsch won gold for the United States. Oksana Masters won the silver medal in the same race.

Athlete	Event	Class	Factor	Real time	Misses	Time	Rank
Kendall Gretsch	6 km, sitting	LW11.5	96 %	22:46.7	1 (0+1)	21:52.0
Oksana Masters		LW12	100 %	22:14.8	0 (0+0)	22:14.8
Joy Rondeau		LW11.5	96 %	28:59.0	0 (0+0)	27:49.4	14

Cross-country Skiing

In the men's 15 km sitting cross-country race, Daniel Cnossen of the United States won a silver medal.

Athlete	Event	Class	Factor	Real time	Calculated time	Rank
Daniel Cnossen	15 km, sitting	LW12	100 %	42:20.7	42:20.7
Sean Halstead		LW11.5	96 %	50:39.6	48:38.0	22
Andrew Soule		LW12	100%	44:36.9	44:36.9	11
Jake Adicoff Guide: Sawyer Kesselheim	20 km, visually impaired	B3

In the women's 12 km sitting cross-country race, Kendall Gretsch won gold, and Oksana Masters won bronze for the United States.

Athlete	Event	Class	Factor	Real time	Calculated time	Rank
Kendall Gretsch	12 km, sitting	LW11.5	96 %	39:51.6	38:15.9
Oksana Masters		LW12	100 %	39:04.9	39:04.9
Grace Miller	15 km, standing	LW8
Mia Zutter Guide: Kristina Trygstad-Saari	15 km, visually impaired	B3

Para-snowboarding

How Athletes Qualified

The World Para Snowboard World Cup Finals in February 2018 were the last event for snowboarders to qualify for the U.S. Paralympic team. Athletes needed to earn season race points by February 19, 2018. The U.S. Paralympic Snowboarding Team was announced on February 20.

Event Schedule

The snowboard cross event started on March 12. The slalom race was scheduled for March 16. Both events included all classes for men and women.

Sledge Hockey

Team Qualification

The U.S. sledge hockey team qualified for the 2018 Winter Paralympics by finishing in the top four at the 2017 Sledge Hockey World Championships. They were aiming for their third straight Paralympic gold medal, having won in 2010 and 2014.

Preparing for the Games

The U.S. team played in several tournaments to get ready. These included the World Sled Hockey Challenge in December 2017 and the Para Ice Hockey International Tournament in January 2018. They also played in the 2018 Border Series in February 2018. Canada was seen as their biggest rival.

Key Players

• Brody Roybal, 19, from Chicago, was part of the gold-medal-winning team at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. He started playing sledge hockey in 2006. He was born with a condition that affected both his legs.
• Joe Misiewicz competed in his first Paralympic Games at 29. He was injured while serving in Afghanistan when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. This injury led to him becoming a double above-knee amputee.
• Kevin McKee, also from Chicago, won a gold medal with the team in Sochi in 2014. He was ranked third on the national team based on his performance in December 2017. Kevin was born with sacral agenesis, a disorder affecting his spine.

Game Schedule

The U.S. sledge hockey team was in Group B with South Korea, the Czech Republic, and Japan. They played Japan on March 10, the Czech Republic on March 11, and South Korea on March 12.

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Czech Republic
Japan
South Korea
United States

March 11, 2018 12:00 KST

United States

12:00 KST

Japan

Gangneung Hockey Centre

March 12, 2018 12:00 KST

United States

12:00 KST

Czech Republic

Gangneung Hockey Centre

March 13, 2018 12:00 MSK

United States

12:00 MSK

South Korea

Gangneung Hockey Centre

Wheelchair Curling

The U.S. national wheelchair curling team was chosen through several events. The first selection happened in September 2017 in Incheon, South Korea. More selections took place in October and November 2017 in Wisconsin. The final team for the 2018 Games was decided in early November 2017.

Before the Paralympics, the American wheelchair curlers practiced in various competitions. These included the U.S. Open in Utica, New York, in December 2017. They also competed in the Kisakallio Cup in Kisakallio, Finland, and the Sochi Open in January 2018. Their games at the Paralympics started on March 10. They played against Sweden on March 11.

See also

In Spanish: Estados Unidos en los Juegos Paralímpicos de Pyeongchang 2018 para niños