Meet 10 Colorado athletes competing in the 2022 Winter Paralympics

Ten Colorado athletes will compete in the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, kicking off with an Opening Ceremony tonight in Beijing.

What to watch: The competitions begin Saturday and wrap up March 13.

Why it matters: Colorado is home to more athletes than any of the other 27 states represented in this year's matches, according to Team USA.

Meet the athletes:

Alpine skiing

Jasmin Bambur, Granby: The 42-year-old originally from Serbia makes his fourth appearance at the Winter Olympics this year. Having never made the Paralympic podium, he is determined to get there in 2022.

• Bambur, who was paralyzed after injuring his spinal cord in a car accident, was inspired to pursue athletics in 1992 upon meeting Paralympic gold medalist Bert Burns.

Tyler Carter, Colorado Springs: The 28-year-old will compete in his third and final Paralympics. He was also named one of the Opening Ceremony flag bearers.

• Carter, who was born without a fibula, had his leg amputated as an infant. He now mentors elementary school students in the Denver and San Francisco Bay areas.

Allie Johnson, Fraser: The Chicago resident is making her Paralympic debut this year after placing fifth in the women's super-G standing category at the final World Cup competition in Sweden and 10th in the super-G at the world championships in Norway.

• Johnson was born with an underdeveloped right arm and works as a therapeutic horse riding instructor at National Sports Center for the Disabled.

Kyle Taulman, Golden: The 19-year-old CU Boulder student makes his first Paralympic Games appearance after finishing 12th in the super G at the world championships in Sweden.

• Taulman, who was paralyzed as a toddler due to health complications that compromised his spinal cord, also plays wheelchair tennis at CU Boulder.

Thomas Walsh, Vail: The 27 year old is attending the Paralympics for the second time after placing in several competitions in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

• The Vail native and current resident was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma and had his final cancer radiation treatment in 2010.

Sled hockey

Ralph DeQuebec, Denver: The 38-year-old two-time Paralympian and one-time Paralympic gold medalist is also a member of the Colorado Avalanche Sled Hockey team.

• DeQuebec earned the Purple Heart after one of his legs had to be amputated above the knee due to a 2012 injury when an improvised explosive device detonated in Afghanistan while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Malik Jones, Aurora: The 19-year-old up-and-coming talent makes his Paralympic debut this year and is named one of the top Team USA athletes to watch in Beijing.

• Jones is a double amputee and skated with the U.S. Development Sled Hockey Team for three seasons.

Snowboarding

Zach Miller, Silverthorne: The young world champion competes in the Paralympic Games for the first time this year after winning gold at the 2021 World Championships.

• Miller, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 6 months old, also won eight World Cup medals in 2018 at age 21.

Mike Minor, Frisco: The 31-year-old is a two-time Paralympics medalist who is making his second appearance in the games this year.

• Minor, who was born without his right forearm, has been snowboarding since he was 7.

Wheelchair curling

Pam Wilson, Westminster: At age 66, Wilson is the oldest athlete on Team USA and is making her Paralympics debut just a decade after first trying out the sport.

• Wilson, who was left partially paralyzed from a car accident in the 1970s, is a physician at Children's Hospital Colorado.

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