Alana Nichols, a Paralympic athlete and inductee into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame, discussed her enduring identity as an athlete despite experiencing paralysis at age 17. She shared her journey and achievements in an interview on ESPN Radio 101.7's "TEAM TALK."
"Movement is medicine. And for an athlete, that's all we know," said Nichols. "I owe a lot of this great honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame to the people that came before me. That's the power of the human spirit, right?"
According to Nichols, her identity as an athlete was established early through sports such as T-ball, volleyball, and fast-pitch softball, which she pursued with dedication before her injury. After being paralyzed from a snowboarding accident at 17, she described discovering wheelchair basketball at the University of New Mexico as a pivotal moment in her life. "I felt like I was running again," she said, emphasizing that it provided the therapy she needed more than physical or occupational therapy. She highlighted the transformative power of adaptive sports: "I needed to be around people that were in my boat… and that was so inspiring for me."
Nichols is noted for being the first American female athlete to win gold medals at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. She achieved gold in wheelchair basketball at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and secured two golds in alpine skiing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympics. Her achievements underscore a rare athletic accomplishment and cement her legacy in U.S. Paralympic history.
Beyond these historic victories, Nichols has earned several other honors across various Paralympic competitions. At the 2010 Vancouver Games, she added a silver medal in the Super-G and a bronze in the Super Combined to her collection. Continuing to compete at elite levels, she won a silver medal in downhill skiing at the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics. These accolades demonstrate her sustained excellence and adaptability across high-performance sports despite physical challenges.
Nichols was born and raised in Farmington, New Mexico, where she was an enthusiastic athlete from a young age. Her life took a dramatic turn when she suffered a spinal cord injury while snowboarding in the backcountry at age 17, resulting in paralysis from the waist down.
Editor's note: This article includes excerpts from an interview conducted on "TEAM Talk" with Joe O'Neill, Adam Diehl, and Andres Chavez. "TEAM Talk" airs Monday through Friday between 4 p.m.-7 p.m. on ESPN Radio 101.7 TheTEAM. Listen live at https://www.1017theteam.com/ or via the app on iPhone and Android devices. To listen to the full interview with Alana Nichols, visit: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2024-nm-sports-hof-inductee-alana-nichols/id1533691091?i=1000714374586
