Alana Nichols

Alana Nichols is recognized for her achievements in adaptive sports, having competed in wheelchair basketball, alpine skiing, and paracanoe across five Paralympic Games. Nichols began her career in adaptive athletics following a snowboarding accident that resulted in paralysis from the waist down at age 17. She discovered wheelchair basketball during her freshman year at the University of New Mexico, which marked the start of her multi-sport Paralympic journey.

Nichols made her Paralympic debut at the Beijing Games, contributing to Team USA's gold medal in wheelchair basketball. Shortly after, she moved to Colorado to train in alpine skiing using a mono-ski. At the Vancouver Winter Paralympics, Nichols earned two gold medals, a silver, and a bronze in alpine skiing, becoming the first American woman to win gold medals at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. She competed at the Sochi Games, securing a silver medal in downhill skiing after recovering from a shoulder injury, and later expanded her athletic pursuits to include paracanoe at the Rio Games. Nichols is a six-time Paralympic medalist, with three gold, two silver, and one bronze medals.

Off the field, Nichols holds a degree from the University of Arizona and a master's degree in kinesiology from the University of Alabama. She has served on the boards of the Women's Sports Foundation, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and espnW, and was elected president of the Women's Sports Foundation, where she contributed to discussions on gender equity and disability inclusion in sports. Nichols has also worked as a broadcaster for NBC's Paralympic coverage and has collaborated with brands such as Toyota, Nike, and Visa.

Nichols has advanced adaptive surfing, winning the first all-women adaptive surfing world championship and serving on the International Surfing Association board, where she advocates for the inclusion of adaptive surfing in the Paralympic Games. As a public speaker, Nichols has appeared on programs including "The Today Show," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," and "The Katie Couric Show," sharing insights on resilience, reinvention, and adaptive sports. She is a member of the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.