Chris Waddell

History In 1988 as a freshman ski racer at Middlebury College Chris broke his back in a freak accident on the hill. Two months later he returned to school and three days short of the accident's one year anniversary he started skiing in a monoski. Less than two years after learning to monoski he was named to the US Disabled Ski Team. Chris remained a member of the Middlebury College Ski Team all four years, and captained the team his senior year. Outside Magazine asked, "Could [Chris] be the World's Greatest Athlete?", People named him one of "The Fifty Most Beautiful People in the World," and Skiing called him one of "The 25 Greatest Skiers in North America ." He was the first Paralympic finalist for the Sullivan Award, an award given by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to the top amateur athlete in the country. In his career Chris has won more Paralympic medals (12) than any male skier in history. He's a World Champion in two vastly different sports (alpine skiing in the winter and track in the summer). In total he's won 13 medals at the Paralympics (12 winter, 1 summer) and nine at the World Championships (6 winter, 3 summer). It is difficult to choose which was Chris's most impressive season. In 1998 he won a gold and two silvers at the Paralympics in Nagano , Japan and a gold and a bronze at the track World Championships in Birmingham , England . In 1994 he swept all four skiing events at the Paralympics in Lillehammer , Norway and then won a silver medal at the track World Championships in Berlin , Germany . Credited with revolutionizing the sport of monoskiing Waddell has conducted camps for aspiring disabled skiers throughout the country for the last eleven years. Prior to the 2002 Winter Games Chris worked closely with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Cindy McHale, promotions director for the Paralympics said, "Chris's contract stated that he would be the 'face of the Paralympics'. He was the face, heart and soul. His ability to capture and communicate the Olympic and Paralympic ideals prior to the Games inspired and motivated crowds, resulting in record attendance." Chris is an entertaining and motivating speaker who draws on his personal experiences and has the unique ability to convey those experiences in a way that can be shared by all. Volney Taylor, retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Dun and Bradstreet Corporation said, "Chris Waddell's talk to our top management group was outstanding. He grabbed his audience's attention immediately and delivered his inspirational life story in a warm, human and articulate manner. His presentation received our highest post-conference survey score." At the site where the Olympic ideal was born, Chris finished his Paralympic career. After seven Games it felt complete to end his career in Athens , Greece .