Top 14 dual-sport athletes at Sochi 2014

As one of the world’s most famous summer Paralympians, Tatyana McFadden, a Russian adoptee has 10 Paralympic medals and 11 world titles to her name on the track.

Joanny Badenhorst, Australia (snowboard, athletics)

After just missing out on qualifying for the London 2012 Paralympic Games in athletics, she was approached by the Australian Paralympic Committee to try out for snowboard, for which she ended up qualifying for Sochi 2014.

Monica Bascio, USA (Nordic skiing, cycling)

She was named the US Olympic Committee’s Sportswoman of the Year for 2012-13 after winning two silver medals in handcycling at the London 2012 Paralympics. Sochi 2014 will be her third Winter Games, as she gets set to compete in cross-country skiing and biathlon in the women’s sitting class.

Brad Bowden, Canada (ice sledge hockey, wheelchair basketball)

Bowden has won Paralympic golds in both of his sports, taking the wheelchair basketball title at the Athens 2004 Games and the ice sledge hockey title at the Torino 2006 Games. He enters Sochi 2014 as one of the most powerful forwards on the ice for the reigning world champions.

Andrea Eskau, Germany (Nordic skiing, cycling)

Sochi 2014 will mark Eskau’s fourth overall Paralympics. She won a handcycling road race gold at Beijing 2008 and then another pair of titles in the time trial and road race at London 2012. She holds a silver medal from the cross-country skiing 5km sitting race at Vancouver 2010 and will look to add to her winter achievements in Sochi.

Jessica Gallagher, Australia (alpine skiing, athletics)

Australia’s visually impaired star reached the Paralympic podium at Vancouver 2010, picking up bronze in the women’s slalom. She competed in the javelin and long jump T13 events at London 2012, but failed to medal. The year prior, at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships, she won silver and bronze in those events, respectively.

Allison Jones, USA (alpine skiing, para-cycling)

Since 2002, she has participated in every Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. On the slopes in the women’s standing class, she won two silvers at the Salt Lake City 2002 Games and a gold at Torino 2006 before missing out on the podium at Vancouver 2010. At London 2012, she picked up two silvers and a gold in para-cycling.

Jalle Jungnell, Sweden (wheelchair curling, wheelchair basketball)

Before taking up wheelchair curling, Jungnell represented his country in wheelchair basketball at the 1988 Paralympics in Seoul. Meanwhile, on the ice, he has helped Sweden win back-to-back bronze medals at the last two Winter Games.

Mariann Marthinsen, Norway (Nordic skiing, swimming)

She has been a swimmer since 2003, but took up skiing after the Beijing 2008 Games after deciding she wanted to try a winter sport. Her biggest achievements include a bronze-medal finish in the 100m backstroke S8 at Beijing 2008 and two fifth-place finishes in the women’s cross-country skiing sitting events at Vancouver 2010.

Oksana Masters, USA (Nordic skiing, rowing)

Masters had both of her legs removed as a child as a result of the effects of growing up near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. She began rowing at age 13, and together with Rob Jones won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Paralympics. Following that, she switched over to the snow, where she now hopes to medal at the Winter Games.

Tatyana McFadden, USA (Nordic skiing, athletics)

As one of the world’s most famous summer Paralympians, the Russian adoptee has 10 Paralympic medals and 11 world titles to her name on the track. She also became the first wheelchair racer to complete a marathon Grand Slam in 2013. Now, like Masters, she hopes to transfer her skills to the Nordic skiing trails.

Alana Nichols, USA (alpine skiing, wheelchair basketball)

The American comes into Sochi 2014 with one of the strongest profiles in the media, having competed in two Paralympics in wheelchair basketball and one in alpine skiing. She was the first female Paralympian from the USA to win gold at both a summer and winter Games, taking titles at Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010.

Stefan Olsson, Sweden (ice sledge hockey, wheelchair tennis)

Olsson, a silver medallist in wheelchair tennis from Beijing 2008 and a London 2012 Paralympian, has recently made the transition to the ice, where he hopes to help the eighth-seeded Swedish team defeat the odds and win a medal.

Aaron Pike, USA (Nordic skiing, athletics)

After just making the switch from athletics to Nordic skiing last year, Pike will head to Sochi in search of his first Paralympic medal. He represented the USA at the London 2012 Paralympics, but did not reach the podium.

Robbi Weldon, Canada (Nordic skiing, para-cycling)

Weldon is a Paralympic champion in para-cycling, as she picked up a gold in her road race at London 2012. At the Vancouver 2010 Games, her best finish in Nordic skiing was fourth place in the 3x25.km relay open. She will look to reach the podium for the first time at a Winter Games in Sochi.

Derek Whitson, Canada (ice sledge hockey, football 7-a-side)

Whitson, a world champion in ice sledge hockey, was part of Canada’s team that finished fourth in the sport at Vancouver 2010. In addition to being a defenceman on the ice, he is hoping to one day represent his country at the Paralympics in football 7-a-side, another sport he competes internationally in. However, he does have a sport preference. “Hockey in a heartbeat,” Whitson said. “It’s in my blood. It’s who I am.”

Related Images

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Canadian forward Brad Bowden speaks to the media.

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Jessica Gallagher of Australia competes in the Women's Visually Impaired Slalom