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American Paralympic snowboarder Brenna Huckaby prepares for her third Paralympic Games.
Huckaby, 29, has enjoyed incredible success as a four-time Paralympic medallist, winning three gold medals and one bronze. She won two gold medals in her Paralympic debut in Pyeongchang in 2018 in banked slalom and snowboard cross.
In Beijing in 2022, she won gold in banked slalom again, while earning bronze in snowboard cross.
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Brenna Huckaby poses for a photo during the US Olympic Team’s Media Summit in preparation for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics at the Javits Center in New York City, New York on October 28, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)
However, Huckaby’s journey to success on the slopes has been a triumph in the face of a lot of adversity.
At age 14, Huckaby was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and had to have her right leg amputated. Her athletic career began as a competitive gymnast, but the Baton Rouge, Louisiana native turned to snowboarding after the amputation.
As Huckaby prepares to compete again in Italy, she said one of her favorite memories of the journey was crossing the finish line in 2018 and seeing her family.
“One of the biggest (memories) right now though is the 2018 Games — first gold and crossing the finish line and getting to hug my family. I’m really looking forward to having a similar experience at (these) Games knowing my family will be there,” Huckaby told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview with Hershey’s, celebrating the happiness as the real gold.
“As for me, I feel like we’ve already won just knowing that I get to share this experience with them. We weren’t able to do that in China. So I’m very excited to be able to do it here.”
In addition to being a four-time Paralympic medalist and five-time World Championship gold medalist, Huckaby is also a mother of two. She gave birth to her daughter Lilah in 2016 and gave birth to her second daughter Sloan in 2020.
Huckaby said being a mom while also snowboarding at an elite level and the training it entails requires a lot of self-compassion.
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Team USA Paralympic snowboarding hopeful Brenna Huckaby during the 2018 US Olympic Summit at the Grand Summit Hotel in Park City, Utah on September 27, 2017. (Jeff Swinger/USA TODAY Sports)
“Balance is always so hard, I feel like. I don’t know if that’s even the right word for it, because it’s definitely bumpy a lot of the time. But I think it’s having, you know, a lot of compassion for yourself because you’re not always going to get it right, but also, you know, recognizing, hey, I’m not always going to go back, where can I take a step back, where can I take a step back, see the right thing. now, and then make the harder decisions, right now my focus is on my family, which means I can’t put in that little extra time that maybe some of my competitors can,” Huckaby said.
“And also when it’s crunch time, knowing, okay, hey family, I love you so much, but right now I have to focus on my sport. I think that’s the hardest part is having to be your own boss to tell you what to do. I think it could be a lot easier to have someone wagging a finger and you say, ‘Oh, sorry. I have to go, big boss’. But it can be hard to have to be the “bad one.” guy” in those situations where you have to leave your family. So have a lot of self-compassion for yourself and know that you know you’re doing the best you can and that’s the best you can do.”
Huckaby said now that her children are old enough to hold on to the memories, with Lilah nine and Sloan five, she hopes they remember her journey as worth the work they put in when they bet on themselves.
“I think right now if my kids are nine and five, so they’re old enough to kind of keep and see what I’m doing and make some choices for themselves. I hope they see that it’s not always easy, but when we make the choice to bet on ourselves, we’re worth the work,” Huckaby said.
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Brenna Huckaby poses for a photo during the US Olympic Team’s Media Summit in preparation for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics at the Javits Center in New York City, New York on October 28, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)
“We’re worth taking that time. And it’s not always motivating and it’s going to feel grumpy, but in those moments, it’s where you grow as a person and say yes to yourself and bet on yourself. And me too, they know that like sometimes I’m afraid to fall into a track and sometimes I’m afraid to be next to the other riders, but it’s true that even they are afraid that they’re afraid. see it and win is able to apply it and gain their own confidence.”
Huckaby has said her “core focus” has been to enjoy the process because it’s the only part of the journey that’s guaranteed.
“I would say over the last eight years of, you know, finding a way to enjoy the process because that’s the only part that’s guaranteed. We don’t know if we’re going to win gold. We don’t know if we’re going to, you know, we don’t even know if we’re going to make it to the game sometimes. And so, how can I make this process and this journey worth it?” Huckaby said.
“For me, it takes a moment, a pause, even if it’s just for 30 seconds, to understand how far I’ve come and where I’m at. And a lot of times I do that on the mountain and I look out and I see the other peaks and the trees and I’m able to remind myself, yes, things are good. So, it’s just a little pause, where there’s a little pause.”
While a mother training to be a world-class snowboarder, Huckaby was also on the front lines orchestrating an inclusivity campaign.
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Olympic athlete Brenna Huckaby, a para-snowboard athlete, speaks to the media during the US Olympic Team Media Summit in preparation for the Milan 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Javits Center in New York City, New York on October 28, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
The Paralympic Qualification Guide excluded the lower limb LL1 category and Huckaby took legal action to fight for his right to compete in medal events restricted to less impaired athletes.
Huckaby said it was a tough time to fight for her right to compete, but also a reminder that her journey is bigger than herself.
“It was a tough time, it was really hard to find moments of happiness,” Huckaby said with a smile. “But I think one of the things that I that really came out of it for me is that I’ve always said that it’s a lot easier to fight for other people than it is myself. And that was a thing that was really tough because I felt like I was speaking for myself. But what came out of it was really a reminder that this has always been bigger than myself.”
“It’s about the kids and even adults who go through limb loss and life-changing experiences. They deserve to see themselves represented in every single scenario. And for me, to see above-the-knee amputee women snowboarding, that was life-changing for me. And so, how can we make sure that continues so that we have future generations of people who believe in themselves.”
Huckaby was the first Paralympian to ever be featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, another moment she said was bigger than herself.
“I would say something similar (like fighting for her classification) for sure, I know this is bigger than me. And for me, I felt like I was doing it for the 14-year-old version of me who had no hair, had just lost her leg, and was questioning if I would ever be seen as beautiful, as lovable, as, worthy, and yes, it was so scary, but I said I did,” Huckaby.
Huckaby said representing the United States is a big role to fill and will do everything in her power to represent well.
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Four-time Paralympic medalist eats a Hershey’s chocolate bar. (Hershey’s)
The 29-year-old said Hershey’s luck as the real gold campaign stood out to her because those moments of happiness throughout the process are what matter most.
“When I learned that happiness is the real gold campaign, I was just sold right away because that’s something that I’ve really tried to implement in my journey, like how do I make sure that in the end you know, win or lose everything has been worth it, and for me it’s been that you know to find those moments of happiness and joy and also know that this is the true process and that’s life and that’s all that’s important,” Huckaby said.
Families play an essential role in any athlete’s journey, and at every moment throughout the process, finding happiness is in the grind.
