2018 Paralympics: Evan Strong finds camaraderie in snowboarding

USA TODAY profiles top U.S. Paralympians to watch in Pyeongchang. 

Before Evan Strong was a Paralympic gold medalist in snowboarding, he was an up-and-coming skateboarder who learned to ride at 5 and signed his first sponsorship deal at 13.

When he was 17, a drunk driver struck the motorcycle Strong was riding. As a result of his injuries, he would have part of his left leg amputated.

After the accident, Strong was contacted by Daniel Gale, one of the founders of Adaptive Action Sports, about a skateboarding tour that would begin in New York and travel to other cities showcasing adaptive athletes. Meeting Gale in New York was the start of a relationship that has transformed Strong’s life over the last decade.

Strong, 31, who lives in Nevada City, is part of Folgers Here’s to Coaches campaign that honors coaches who are invested in helping athletes achieve their dreams. He credits Gale for teaching him to compete in snowboarding and supporting him on a journey that led to gold in Sochi in snowboardcross four years ago. Gale and his wife, snowboarder Amy Purdy, co-founded Adaptive Action Sports in 2005.

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“Their values and the mission aligned with mine,” Strong said in January during a phone interview, of meeting Gale and Adaptive Action Sports teammates 11 years ago. “I thought I found my tribe. I knew that I would do a lot of great work with them.”

Leading up to Pyeongchang, Strong posted strong results with his first win at the Dew Tour, which was a Paralympic qualifier, and two silver medals at the World Cup in Pyha, Finland. At last year’s world championships in Canada, Strong won silver in snowboardcross and was fourth in banked slalom.

In Sochi, Strong led a historic American sweep of the podium in snowboardcross, with teammates Mike Shea and Keith Gabel. Sochi marked Para snowboarding’s debut in the Games.

“There’s definitely pressure, but I perform really well under pressure,” said Strong, who is also a world champion and X Games medalist. “So it’s like yeah, I love to be wearing the target going into the Games as the guy to beat.”

Shea and Gabel are also back for their second Paralympics. Strong says there’s strong camaraderie in the snowboarding movement. “We can battle it out and still be friends,” he said. 

The U.S. sweep has inspired several on the team now competing in Pyeongchang. 

"My teammates, Mike, Evan and Keith, they made a huge mark to sweep the podium the first time that snowboarding was part of the Games," said U.S. flag bearer Mike Schultz, a snowboarder who competes in a different classification from Strong, Shea and Gabel. "They taught me a lot."

Strong’s results and potential to win another medal in South Korea have made him one of the more marketable U.S. athletes heading into the Paralympics. He also has deals with The Hartford, Toyota and Bridgestone, among other brands.

Strong, who grew up in Maui but moved to the Lake Tahoe area in 2007, has said skateboarding, his first love, has helped him on snow.

“I’ve been skateboarding since I was 5 years old, and if you can ride a board without bindings; you can definitely ride a board with bindings,” Strong said last fall at the U.S. Olympic Committee’s media summit. “So I think skateboarding is great conditioning for snowboarding, especially since winters are only a very limited amount of time, to get on snow can be challenging. To get onto a race course is even more challenging.

"Being able to bring my skateboard around on my backpack, being able to rip around and hit up a skate park in any town that I’m in, it really gives me a competitive edge. Once I get on my snowboard, I feel so much more comfortable. And it’s definitely a huge part of my training for the race season.”

In Pyeongchang, Strong will look to add to his Sochi gold in the snowboardcross event Monday and banked slalom on March 16.