Carl Murphy scoops major national award

Murphy, is a below the knee amputee and was born with only one and a half legs. However, this has not stopped him from getting up on a snowboard and competing at an international level.

Para-snowboarder Carl Murphy, a gold medal contender at next March’s Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, has been awarded the Athlete of the Year title at the Snow Sports NZ Annual Awards Night held on 4 October.

Murphy, who is currently ranked world No. 1 by IPC Alpine Skiing for men’s snowboard cross, also picked up the adaptive athlete of the year award.

Murphy, is a below the knee amputee and was born with only one and a half legs. However, this has not stopped him from getting up on a snowboard and competing at an international level.

With the help of a custom designed carbon fibre prosthetic leg, Murphy rides his board in the same set-up as a ‘two-legger’.

He is the first adaptive snowboarder to be named to the NZ Snowboard National Team and has been a member of the team since 2009.

Recent career highlights include two gold medals in men’s snowboard cross at the two-day IPC Alpine Skiing (IPCAS) race in the Netherlands in November 2012; first place in men’s snowboard cross at the IPC Para-Snowboard World Cup in Canada in March 2013 and a bronze medal at the Paralympic Winter Games Test event in Sochi, Russia, also in March

In a new format, this year’s Awards encompass an 18 month timeframe including the 2012 Southern Hemisphere Season, the 2012/2013 Northern Hemisphere season and the 2013 Southern Hemisphere season.