Michelle Salt

The 31-year-old became Canada’s first female Paralympic snowboarder at Sochi 2014, finishing ninth in the women’s snowboard-cross, on the sport’s debut at the Paralympic Winter Games.

Salt, who took up snowboard at 13-years-old, had a life-threatening motorcycle accident in 2011 and as a result lost her right leg 10 inches above the knee. Whilst recovering in hospital, she received the visit of Canada’s Para ice hockey captain Greg Westlake, who encouraged Salt to go on practising.

Soon after, she was snowboarding again.

"It was such an incredible feeling to get back on the board after hearing it may never happen again,” she said.

Salt finished fifth in the 2014-15 World Cup overall rankings and fourth in both the snowboard-cross and the banked slalom at the 2015 IPC Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, Spain.

She climbed to the fourth place in the World Cup last season and is hoping to take another leap forward in 2016-17 where she will compete at home at the 2017 World Para Snowboard World Championships in Big White, Canada.

Salt works as an estate agent, is a motivational speaker and also participates in fitness competitions.