Patrick Mayrhofer

Austria’s Patrick Mayrhofer made history in 2014-15 by becoming the first upper-limb impaired rider to win banked slalom at the World Cup in Landgraaf, the Netherlands.

Mayrhofer, 28, had been snowboarding for 15 years before being electrocuted at work in 2008, causing his left hand to be amputated. He also sustained damage to leg muscles and a finger on his right hand.

In 2012, after lots of rehabilitation, the Austrian was at an exhibition about prosthetics where he came across a booth being run by his national Para sport team. They talked about which sports he liked and the rest is history.

In 2013-14, Mayrhofer debuted at the IPC Para Snowboard World Cup Finals in La Molina, Spain, the same venue where he won gold in banked slalom at the 2015 IPC Snowboard World Championships.

He also finished top of the men’s SB-UL World Cup standings in the 2015-16 season.

But disaster struck the Austrian just before the 2017 World Championships. An injury put him out of contention for the defense of his banked slalom world title.

Mayrhofer looked in great form beforehand, finishing on the podium at the opening World Cup in Landgraaf. He will return in 2018 looking to prove himself at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.