American star Brenna Huckaby eyes fourth Paralympic gold medal in Milan after leg amputation at age 14

United States Paralympic snowboarder Brenna Huckaby is preparing for her 3rd Paralympic Games.

Huckaby, 29, has had unthinkable occurrence arsenic she is simply a four-time Paralympic medalist, winning 3 golden medals and 1 bronze. She won 2 golden medals successful her Paralympic debut successful Pyeongchang successful 2018 successful banked slalom and snowboard cross.

In Beijing successful 2022, she won golden successful the banked slalom again, portion earning bronze successful the snowboard cross.

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Brenna Huckaby poses for a photograph during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit successful mentation for the 2026 Milan Olympic Winter Games astatine the Javits Center successful New York City, New York, connected Oct. 28, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)

However, Huckaby’s travel to occurrence connected the slopes has been 1 of triumph successful the look of a batch of adversity.

At property 14, Huckaby was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a uncommon bony cancer, and she had to person her close limb amputated. Her diversion vocation began arsenic a competitory gymnast, but the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, autochthonal turned to snowboarding aft the amputation.

As Huckaby prepares to vie again successful Italy, she said 1 of her favourite memories on the travel was crossing the decorativeness enactment successful 2018 and seeing her family.

"One of the biggest (memories) close present though is the 2018 Games — archetypal golden and crossing the decorativeness enactment and getting to hug my family. I americium truly looking guardant to having a akin acquisition astatine (these) games knowing that my household volition beryllium there," Huckaby told Fox News Digital successful a caller interrogation with Hershey’s, celebrating happiness arsenic the existent gold.

"Like, to me, I consciousness similar we've already won conscionable knowing that I get to stock this acquisition with them. We weren't capable to bash that successful China. So I'm precise excited to beryllium capable to bash that here."

In summation to being a four-time Paralympic medalist and five-time satellite champion golden medalist, Huckaby is besides a parent of two. She gave commencement to her girl Lilah successful 2016, and gave commencement to her 2nd girl Sloan successful 2020.

Huckaby said balancing being a ma portion besides snowboarding astatine an elite level, and the grooming that entails, tin beryllium challenging and takes a batch of self-compassion.

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Team USA Paralympic snowboarding hopeful Brenna Huckaby during the 2018 U.S. Olympic Summit astatine the Grand Summit Hotel successful Park City, Utah, connected Sep. 27, 2017. (Jeff Swinger/USA TODAY Sports)

"Balance is ever truthful hard, I consciousness like. I don't cognize if that's adjacent the close connection for it due to the fact that it's decidedly uneven a batch of the time. But I deliberation it's having, you know, a batch of compassion for yourself due to the fact that you're not ever going to get it right, but also, you know, recognizing, hey, I'm not ever going to get this right. So, however tin I instrumentality a measurement back, pause, see, wherever I'm needed close now, and past marque those harder decisions of close present my absorption is with my family, which means I can't enactment successful that small other clip that possibly immoderate of my competitors can," Huckaby said.

"And besides erstwhile it's crunch time, knowing, okay, hey family, I emotion you truthful much, but close present I got to spell absorption connected my sport. I deliberation it's the hardest portion is having to beryllium your ain brag to archer you what to do. I deliberation it could beryllium a batch easier to person idiosyncratic waving a digit and you're like, ‘Oh, sorry. I got to go, large brag is telling me.’ But having to beryllium the, you know, the ‘bad guy’ successful those situations of having to permission your household tin beryllium tough. So having a batch of self-compassion for yourself and knowing similar you cognize you're doing the champion you tin um and that's the champion you tin do."

Huckaby said present that her kids are aged capable to clasp memories, with Lilah being 9 years aged and Sloan being 5 years old, she hopes that they retrieve her journey, that they are worthy putting the enactment successful for erstwhile they stake connected themselves.

"I deliberation close present if my kids are 9 and five, truthful they're older capable to benignant of clasp and spot what I'm doing and and marque immoderate choices for themselves. I anticipation they spot that similar it's not ever easy, but erstwhile we marque the the prime to stake connected ourselves, we're worthy putting the enactment successful for," Huckaby said.

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Brenna Huckaby poses for a photograph during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit successful mentation for the 2026 Milan Olympic Winter Games astatine the Javits Center successful New York City, New York, connected Oct. 28, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)

"We're worthy taking that time. And it's not ever motivating and it's going to consciousness grindy, but successful those moments, that's wherever you turn arsenic a idiosyncratic and saying yes to yourself and betting connected yourself. And I besides they cognize that similar sometimes I'm frightened to driblet into a people and sometimes I'm frightened to beryllium adjacent to the different riders, but that existent bravery is doing things adjacent though you're scared. And truthful I anticipation that they spot that and summation are capable to use that and summation their ain self-confidence."

Huckaby has said a "core focus" of hers has been to bask the process, due to the fact that that is the lone portion of the travel that is guaranteed.

"I would say, implicit the past 8 years of, you know, uncovering a mode to bask the process due to the fact that that's the lone portion that's guaranteed. We don't cognize if we're going to triumph gold. We don't cognize if we'll, you know, we don't adjacent cognize if we'll marque it to the crippled sometimes. And so, however tin I marque this process and this travel worthy it?" Huckaby said.

"For me, it's taking a moment, a pause, adjacent if it's conscionable for 30 seconds, to admit however acold I've come, and wherever I'm at. And a batch of the times I bash that connected the upland and I look retired and I spot the different peaks and the trees and I'm capable to punctual myself like, yeah, things are good. So, it's conscionable taking a tiny small intermission and that's wherever happiness is found."

While being a parent who is grooming to beryllium a world-class snowboarder, Huckaby besides was connected the beforehand lines orchestrating an inclusivity campaign.

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Olympic jock Brenna Huckaby, a para snowboarding athlete, speaks with media during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit successful mentation for the 2026 Milan Olympic Winter Games astatine the Javits Center successful New York City, New York, connected Oct. 28, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

The Paralympic qualification usher excluded the little limb LL1 category, and Huckaby took ineligible enactment to combat for her close to vie successful medal events that are constricted to less-impaired athletes.

Huckaby said that warring for her close to vie was a hard time, but besides a reminder that her travel is bigger than herself.

"That was a that was a hard time, it was truly hard to find moments of happiness," Huckaby said with a smile. "But I deliberation 1 of the things that I that truly came retired of that for maine is I've ever said it's mode easier to combat for different radical than it is myself. And that was 1 happening that was truly hard due to the fact that I felt similar I was advocating for myself. But truly, what came retired of that was a reminder that this has ever been bigger than myself."

"It's astir those kids and adjacent adults that are going done limb nonaccomplishment and life-changing experiences. Like, they merit to spot themselves represented successful each azygous scenario. And for me, seeing supra the genu amputee women successful snowboarding, that was life-changing for me. And so, however tin we marque definite that that continues truthful that we person aboriginal generations of radical believing successful themselves."

Huckaby was the archetypal Paralympian to ever beryllium connected the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which was different infinitesimal she said was bigger than herself.

"I would accidental akin (to warring for her classification) for sure, I cognize this is bigger than me. And for maine it I felt similar I was doing it for the 14-year-old mentation of maine who had nary hair, had conscionable mislaid her leg, and questioning whether oregon not I would ever beryllium seen arsenic beautiful, arsenic lovable, as, worthy and yeah, it was scary. But I'm truthful gladsome that I did it," Huckaby said.

Huckaby said that representing the United States is simply a large relation to capable and volition bash everything successful her powerfulness to correspond well.

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Four-time Paralympic medalist eats a Hershey's cocoa bar. (Hershey's)

The 29-year-old said that Hershey’s happiness arsenic the existent golden run stood retired to her due to the fact that the moments of happiness passim the process are what substance most.

"When I had learned astir the happiness is the existent golden campaign, I conscionable was instantly sold due to the fact that That is thing that I've been trying to truly instrumentality into my travel of similar however tin I marque definite that you cognize astatine the extremity of the time triumph oregon suffer everything has been worthy it and for maine it's been you cognize uncovering those moments of happiness and joyousness and besides knowing that that's the existent process that's the beingness that's lived passim the travel and and that's what's astir important," Huckaby said.

Families play an indispensable relation successful each athlete’s journey, and successful each infinitesimal passim the process uncovering happiness successful the grind is what endures.

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