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CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 08: Kate Delson of Team United States competes during the Para Snowboard Cross Quarterfinals on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Cortina Para Snowboard Park on March 08, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
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Kate Delson waited. She stood on her snowboard, crouched down and ready at the top of the banked slalom course in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The only sound: her breathing. Then a signal.
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CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 13: Kate Delson of United States competes during the Para Snowboard Men's Banked Slalom on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Cortina Para Snowboard Park on March 13, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Marcus Hartmann/Getty Images)
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Delson pushed forward, launching into the turns like a veteran far older than her twenty years. She stayed rock-steady through berm after berm, as if she were following an invisible line down the middle of the track.
Crossing the finish line, Delson would witness her competitors cheering her on and rushing forward to embrace her in a spontaneous group hug. “It was amazing,” Delson would remark later that day. “Lisa and Brenna were there, cheering. We all hugged. That’s what makes this sport so special. We couldn’t do it without each other,” she said. “We make the sport together.”
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CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 13: Gold medallist Kate Delson of Team United States, Silver medallist Lisa Bunschoten-Vos of Team Netherlands and Bronze medallist Brenna Huckaby of Team United States celebrate on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Para Snowboard Women's Banked Slalom SB-LL2 on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Cortina Para Snowboard Park on March 13, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
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Gold And Silver In The Alps
Delson’s gold came in the banked slalom, a two-run event where the fastest single run determines the podium. Before 2026, banked slalom had not been her strongest discipline.
“I didn’t get my first World Cup banked slalom podium until this season,” Delson explained. “It’s all thanks to my coaches and countless training camps. Staying on my feet, repeating lines, cleaning up mistakes—it all paid off this morning.”
On her second run, after seeing Dutch competitor Lisa Bunschoten post a faster time, Delson knew she had to execute flawlessly. She did, and the gold medal was hers.
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CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 13: Lisa Bunschoten-Vos of Netherlands competes during the Para Snowboard Men's Banked Slalom on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Cortina Para Snowboard Park on March 13, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Marcus Hartmann/Getty Images)
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Earlier in the Games, she also won silver in snowboard cross, competing directly against veteran French rider Cécile Hernandez, who, by the way, is more than twice her age. Despite a small mistake preventing a pass, Delson finished within inches of the lead, claiming silver in a tightly contested race.“All I needed to do was ride the same lines and clean up one spot on the course,” Delson would say later.
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CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 8: Gold Medalist Cecile Hernandez of Team France celebrates afer the Women's Para Snowboard Cross SB-UL Big Final on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Cortina Para Snowboard Park on March 8, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Tom Weller/Getty Images)
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Beginnings
Kate Delson grew up in San Diego. Her family had bought a condo in Mammoth Lakes before she was born. She was born missing muscles in her right leg, including her calf, much of her hamstring, and glute muscles. She began learning to ski at age 3 with Disabled Sports Eastern Sierras and transitioned to snowboarding at age 6.
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MAMMOTH LAKES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 29: In an aerial view, a church stands in the Sierra Nevada mountains, after yet another storm system brought heavy snowfall further raising the snowpack, on March 29, 2023 in Mammoth Lakes, California. The Pacific storm delivered widespread rain and mountain snow to the U.S. west coast in Northern California and Oregon. After years of drought, the state snowpack average for California may hit an all time record from the several feet of new snow which fell during the storm in parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Nearby Mammoth Mountain ski resort announced today it has received the highest amount of total snow at the Main Lodge for any season, with 695 total inches, after at least 28 inches of new snow fell during the storm. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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“It took a little bit of begging to have me hop on a snowboard, because this was in the early 2000s, and skiing was the main sport that the disabled sports programs around the world would offer. Snowboarding wasn't as popular,” she said. At the time, it was believed skiing was more straightforward for most people with disabilities. But not for Delson — on a board, she felt a world of difference.
“I have one weak leg missing some musculature. So being on skis and having that one week leg just dragging was painful and hard for me to progress, whereas when I’m on a snowboard, and my two feet are working together, it works amazing,” she said. “Better than walking for me sometimes."
Delson’s passion for snowboarding grew and grew. She eventually moved to Mammoth and started training slopestyle on jumps and rails. Later, she gave the Paralympic sport of para snowboard cross a try. After graduating from high school, Kate was ready to commit. She relocated to Park City to train full-time, quickly rising through the international ranks.
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UTAH, UNITED STATES - 2024/02/24: Evening scene with lights in downtown Park City Park, best known as a mountain ski resort in the western United States located 32 miles east of Salt Lake City. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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At just twenty years old, she would later have the distinction of being the youngest member of the 2025-26 U.S. Para Snowboard Team.
A Family’s Passion Behind the Podium
Behind Kate Delson’s drive are parents who instilled hard work and passion from the start. Her mother, a lifelong skier, and her father, a committed supporter of adaptive sports, ensured that Delson learned dedication alongside fun. “When I wanted to join the snowboard team, it took a lot of begging,” she recalled. “Once they agreed, I never missed a practice.” Like many Olympic parents, they were there at the beginning, encouraging Kate to try things and making her a part of their skiing as a family. That’s what made it so special to have them there at the end of the course in Cortina d’Amprezzo. As she would say later, “I could hear my parents cheering through one of the last turns. That was amazing.”
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Kate Delson of the United States competes during the Para Snowboard Women's Banked Slalom SB-LL2 event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Cortina D'ampezzo, Italy, March 13, 2026. (Photo by Mu Yu/Xinhua via Getty Images)
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A Bright Future Ahead
At 20, Delson has already proven herself on the Paralympic stage. With the next Winter Paralympics in 2030 and the 2034 Games returning to Utah—just minutes from her Park City training base—her trajectory suggests that more medals may be on the horizon.
“It’s surreal,” she said. “Two medals in my first Games.” For now, Delson will savor her triumphs, taking a moment to relish the finish-line celebrations that define her sport’s culture. “The competitors make us better—and they’re the reason we get to stand on the podium.”
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CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - MARCH 13: Gold medallist Kate Delson of Team United States, sings the national anthem on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Para Snowboard Women's Banked Slalom SB-LL2 on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at Cortina Para Snowboard Park on March 13, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
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Delson’s story is more than a tale of youth triumphing over adversity. It is a reminder that in para sport, technical skill, competitive fire, and community spirit intersect in ways that elevate the entire field.
From sunny San Diego to snow-laden Cortina d’Ampezzo, Kate Delson has arrived—not just as a medalist, but as an example of someone whose journey embodies perseverance, camaraderie, and likely, many more podiums to come.
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