San Diego snowboarder wins silver in Paralympics debut
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Team USA's para snowboarder Kate Delson is bringing home a silver medal from Milan. Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
Snowboarder Kate Delson, a San Diego native, won a silver medal in her debut at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games on Sunday.
The big picture: The 20-year-old rising star secured the first medal of these games for Team USA's para snowboarding team, which has dominated the sport since its 2014 debut.
- She's one of 72 U.S. paralympians competing this year and the youngest member of the para snowboarding roster.
State of play: Delson won silver in snowboard cross, a head-to-head race between four riders, and will compete in the banked slalom, a technical solo time-based race, on Saturday.
- The games run through March 15, and all events will stream on Peacock and broadcast channels USA, CNBC and NBC.
What she's saying: "I'm feeling like a champion with my friends and my family behind me," Delson told Axios from Milan with the new hardware around her neck.
- "It's such a celebration of the sport, and to get a medal on this big stage and keep up the consistency has been so special," she said. "It feels so awesome to have a crowd watching the races."
Zoom in: Delson was born with a congenital disability, missing most of the muscles in her right leg. She learned to snowboard at 6 years old through the Access Mammoth adaptive sports program and fell in love with the sport during annual family trips to Mammoth Lakes.
- As a teenager, she moved from Carmel Valley to Mammoth and joined the Mammoth Snowboard Team, becoming its first athlete with a physical disability.
- Her passion and skills skyrocketed from there, including landing the 360, along with her rise in world rankings as she started competing internationally.
"I did not feel disabled when riding my snowboard, and I still feel very free," Delson told Axios. That's one of the reasons why she loves the sport.
- But overcoming the physical and technical challenges that arise as she becomes more skilled is what makes the sport fun, she said.
What's next: Delson hasn't missed a season at Mammoth yet, despite now living in Utah, and she'll be back in San Diego soon to show her grandma her medal — or two.