U.S. Olympic Athletes

Gerald Hayden

  • Home:  Merced, California

In 2006, Gerald Hayden competed on the biggest mono-skiing stage in the world, the Paralympic Winter Games. In Torino, he collected top-20 finishes in both the slalom (19th) and giant slalom (20th). Hayden is now a full-time ski racer and competed at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

 

Hayden kicked up his training regime for the 2007-2008 season and it all paid off with ten top-20 finishes in World Cup competition – the highlight of which was an eighth place finish in the giant slalom in Korea. Hayden then wrapped the season by grabbing second place in the super G at U.S. Championships, along with fourth in the slalom and fifth in the downhill.

 
Hayden was a recreational skier and snowboarder before he suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident in 1995. Within a year of his injury, Hayden signed up for a ski lesson at Tahoe Adaptive Ski School and learned that not only that he could still ski, but that the experience was exhilarating. 

Hayden has a degree in economics from UC-Davis, enjoys reading John Steinbeck novels and eating Thai food.

 

Major Achievements:

  • 2010: Team member – Paralympic Games, Vancouver, Canada
  • 2008: Fifth place, slalom – The Hartford Ski Spectacular, Breckenridge, Colorado
  • 2008: Second place, Super G; fourth place, slalom; fifth place, downhill – U.S. Championships
  • 2008: Eighth place, giant slalom – World Cup, Korea
  • 2008: 10 top-20 finishes in World Cup competition
  • 2006: Member, U.S. Paralympic Alpine Skiing Team – Paralympic Winter Games, Torino, Italy
  • 2006: Silver medal, giant slalom; silver medal, Super G; bronze medal, slalom – Meridian Cup, Winter Park, Colorado
  • 2006: Third place, giant slalom – Huntsman Cup, Park City, Utah