Vernon’s Curt Minard said he’s “absolutely ecstatic” to be representing Canada at the Paralympics in Pyeongchang next month.
“It’s an extreme honour,” Minard said Wednesday.
The snowboarder, who is originally from Saskatchewan, has come a long way since he was injured in an electrical contact accident roughly a decade ago.
In 2008 he was electrocuted with over 14,000 volts. He lost his left hand and suffered nerve damage in his right hand.
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“It was a miracle that I survived such a traumatic accident,” he said.
As a result, he spent more than two months in a burn unit and faced 12 major surgeries and more than four years of rehab.
“Getting out and being at one of the mountains, snowboarding and having a blast,” helped him get through the accident, Minard said.
Now that hobby is propelling him onto the world stage.
This week Minard was one of seven snowboarders named to the Canadian Paralympic Team. He’s the only rider from British Columbia.
The group will be heading to Pyeongchang to compete in the Paralympics, which kicks off on March 9.
Minard will be competing in snowboard cross and banked slalom.
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