USA's Paralympics “Rock Star” Patrick Halgren Skis to Silver, and Leaves Everyone Laughing

He’s colorful, candid, entertaining, enigmatic, fun-loving, friendly, unpredictable, and now a Paralympic alpine skiing silver medalist. 

One-legged ski racer Patrick Halgren laid down the best run of his para skiing career, one that landed him in the middle of the medals on Monday in Cortina.

The 33-year-old Paralympic athlete from Connecticut celebrated jubilantly in the finish area, demonstratively shouting to an enthusiastic crowd, especially his parents, who were watching him race overseas for the first time.

“Best day of my life, until tomorrow. I'll repeat that until the day I die,” Halgren responded to POWDER in the Cortina finish area. Shortly thereafter, the often unpredictable Halgren slightly changed his tune, putting the triumph in perspective.

“It's just another Monday, you know? You celebrate the victories, the same as the defeats. And I've been blessed to have to develop my character over the last 11 years, losing my leg, and could either roll over and die, or I could become the greatest Patrick Halgren on Earth, and that's what you're seeing,” he said.

The 33-year-old Halgren, who mostly trains in Colorado and is competing at his second Paralympics, seized the moment at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games, aggressively attacking the daunting Super-G course on the Olympia delle Tofane piste.

He also rebounded two days after losing an edge and falling while approaching the finish in the opening downhill race.

Halgren was only beaten by Swiss Robin Cuche, the nephew of Didier, one of the greatest World Cup downhill racers ever. Patrick skied 18th, laying down a run of one minute, 13 seconds and one-tenth, 0.98 seconds behind Cuche. He sat and waited in the leaders’ box for what probably seemed like hours, and survived 29 more racers before a silver medal officially belonged to him.

“I have the best coaches on planet earth, Pearls (Ryan), Zali (Offord), and (Chris) Newey, maybe even the whole world. I had a good inspection, and I kept my eyes up like they tell me,” Halgren said. “They make the car, and I'm the race car driver. You know, I put the pedal to the floor until I see the checkered flag or God. And that's how you win.”

Halgren has quickly risen to become the undisputed rock star of the Paralympics, his Instagram stories pushing limits just like he skis.

Asked point-blank what he thinks about people calling him the rock star of these Games, just three days in, Halgren responds: “They’re not wrong. Yeah, I am a rock star,” he said, eliciting laughter.

Slightly more seriously, Halgren reveals: “I always wanted to be this guy Jim Brown, he was my idol, he was a professional football player and played lacrosse at Syracuse. I did both those sports, and he retired at the peak of his career and became basically the first black action movie star. I always wanted to be him.”

Despite his seemingly nonstop comedy act, Halgren is a Para athlete and a human being constantly expressing extreme gratefulness, having suffered through tragedies, losing his twin brother Sven to a motorcycle accident and a near death himself.

Patrick had his left leg amputated after a motorcycle accident in 2013. His father, who suffered a similar accident, taught him how to ski proficiently on one leg.

“It's pretty special having my mom and dad here. That's pretty cool, but also, it sucks not having Sven here,” he said. “He's the reason I'm here. I'm just a vessel to cram love and combat hate down your throats. He inspired me to live life, but life is fragile. 

“This is all for him and for my family. It’s for the people who have struggled. He’s dead, and I’m here living, talking to you guys.”

Halgren is also a consummate entertainer; the smiles, laughs, and good vibes that he generated in the festive Cortina finish area were next level. One could argue that Halgren should be appointed as America’s newest international ambassador.

He quickly generated loads of goodwill among fans, fellow racers, anyone he crossed paths with, and especially his U.S. teammates.

“It is wild, he’s a blast to hang out with and the center of attention everywhere he goes,” said Halgren’s sit-skiing teammate Robert Enigl. About Halgren’s silver-medal winning run, Enigl said: “He fully gassed it and nuked every turn. It was awesome, I’m so pumped for him.”

Stifel U.S. Ski Team downhill racers Isabella “Bella” Wright and Jackie Wiles returned to Cortina to cheer on Halgren and the U.S. para ski racers.

“He’s such a fun, large personality, and to see his passion today — he skied amazing, so strong in the turns, and that was so awesome to see,” said Wright, who finished 21st in the women’s Olympic downhill, on the same Olympia delle Tofane slope, one month ago. “This track is no joke. I could not imagine doing it on one leg. I can hardly do it on two legs, so it’s really inspiring to all of us and fun to be a part of.”

Halgren has often remarked that he sees himself as the “one-legged Bode Miller.” On Monday at the Paralympics, he undoubtedly skied like Bode, taking great risk and finding an aggressive line down the 1.2-mile Olympia delle Tofane piste, executing all the way through the finish.

“He was the bad boy of the Olympics, and I’m the bad boy of the Paralympics,” Halgren says, with a big laugh. “He dropped a ski in Bormio and skied the entire downhill on one ski. That inspired me.”

So what is next for America’s latest and greatest rock star athlete? Queried somewhat in jest, if he was planning to retire at the top of his profession, mind you, that he has more races left in Italy, Halgren’s stand-up comedy routine continued.

“I’ll do what I want. I mean, if the money keeps pouring in like this, I would like to dominate the earth in every category with one leg. I don’t know if you saw the competition, not many one-leggers,” he uttered, with a large smile.

Halgren departed the Cortina finish area, naturally, leaving everyone, once again, in hysterics: “My horse, my horse is thirsty. I’m out.”