BIOGRAPHY
Sit-skier Gerald Hayden was a recreational skier and snowboarder before a car crash in which he suffered a spinal cord injury. He rebounded within the year, turning to disabled skiing, and now that he's out of college, Hayden wants to be one of the best World Cup racers.
UPDATE
Hayden took up some serious training and it all paid off in results during the 2008 season. In the World Cup, Hayden had 10 top-20 finishes - the highlight of which was an 8th in a GS in Korea. Hayden then wrapped up his year by grabbing a second place in super G at U.S. Championships, along with fourth in the slalom and fifth in the downhill.
FIRST TRACKS
Hayden was 11 when he started skiing at Dodge Ridge. In 1995, he was a passenger in a car that collided with another, partially paralyzing him from the waist down. Within a year, though, he was learning to be a disabled skier with some former USDST athletes (Bill Bowness, Jim Finch, Peter Axelson) at Tahoe's Alpine Meadows, then entered the Challenge Aspen program and started thinking about racing. He took several years off to complete college, moved to Winter Park in 2004 for the training opportunities. He laughed as he said, I think there may have been a typo that helped me make the Paralympic Team, but I have no complaints." Neither did U.S. coaches.
PARALYMPICS
2006 - 19th in SL, 20th in GS, 34th in SG, DNF in DH
I AM
A big fan of Steinbeck - Cannery Row is one of my favorites, also enjoyed reading Epitaph for a Peach by David Masamoto, which recounts a Japanese immigrant family's experience in California's Central Valley - where I grew up...Dad is a bank executive, Mom's a first-grade teacher and I have a sister - and they all ski when they can...Graduated with a degree in economics from UC Davis...Thai food rules - coconut curry sauce, the whole deal...I was a water polo player before my injury and i still love to swim...
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03/14/2009
Hayden Lands First World Cup Podium
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02/12/2009
U.S. Team Shines at Huntsman
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