This 44-year-old US snowboarder got the 'perfect' send-off with Paralympics bronze

Trevor McGee, Special to USA TODAY SportsSat, March 14, 2026 at 4:59 PM UTC

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This 44-year-old US snowboarder got the 'perfect' send-off with Paralympics bronze

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Mike Schultz set two goals before his final Paralympic run on the slopes: Earn a podium spot and have the most fun he could.

When he crossed the finish line at Cortina Para Snowboard Park with a time of 1:00.05, the 44-year-old accomplished both with a bronze medal in the men’s banked slalom.

“I knew if I did my perfect run, I had a shot,” Schultz said. “And I did that twice today.”

But Schultz’s impact on the sport will extend far beyond the medal he earned Friday.

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He is the owner of BioDapt, a lower-limb prosthetic manufacturer. A majority of the amputee athletes on the Paralympic circuit use Schultz’s product.

“He's like on the Mount Rushmore of the sport, if you think about it,” teammate Zach Miller said. “I think he's just kind of the perfect embodiment of the Paralympic spirit. And so it's pretty sad to see him go, but I know it's definitely not going to change like the work that he's doing.”

Walking away from competition will give Schultz more time to dedicate to the company — the legacy he hopes will outlast his career as an athlete.

“Man, to walk through the staging area and line up at the start gate and seeing all these incredible athletes from literally around the world wearing equipment I built in my shop is pretty powerful,” Schultz said.

He’ll now take a backseat role from competition, while his equipment will stay center stage. He’ll have his eyes peeled on the events moving forward. Schultz’s final message to the sport belongs to those for whom he created the path.

“You guys just keep charging, because I'll be watching,” Schultz said. “And you guys make me so pumped at the level you guys are riding. Just keep it rolling.”

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His first run clocked a 1:00.59 before the second run temporarily boosted him into silver medal territory. Japan’s Daichi Oguri bumped Schultz to bronze on the second-to-last run of the day, while Noah Elliott secured gold.

For Elliott, the opportunity to share a podium with Schultz one last time made it a full circle. The pair, which both compete in the SB-LL1 classification as athletes with an above-knee amputation, went 1-2 in the banked slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, Elliott’s first.

“It means so much to me to send him off like this, and be able to be right by his side on top of that podium,” Elliott said. “I’m so proud.”

The medal completed Schultz’s Paralympic medal set, joining a 2018 gold in the snowboard cross, a 2018 silver in the banked slalom and 2022 silver in the cross.

His main event is the cross, and disappointment settled earlier in the week when Schultz placed sixth. That allowed him to leave it all on the line in his final race, removing expectations.

“No matter how I finished, I was gonna enjoy the hell out of this day,” Schultz said. “And when I'm happy and jiving, that's when I do my best racing. I should have had that mindset a long time ago.”

It wasn’t as simple as racing down the banks, though. Schultz took a second to realize what was the culmination of a 27-year action sport career that included three Paralympics.

“I'm like, no, I can't let it flow right now,” Schultz said. “I got to focus. I got another run.”

Trevor McGee is a reporter for the Paralympics Project, a partnership between USA TODAY Network and the College of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA's Mike Schultz won 'perfect' Paralympic send-off with bronze medal

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