Sending it for Sven

Alpine skier Patrick Halgren is the undisputed rock star of the 2026 Winter Paralympics.

The Winter Paralympics have overflowed with incredible feats and uplifting stories as expected. But it was Patrick Halgren’s performance in the Super-G final, along with some unforgettable post-race interviews, that won the hearts of Cortina.

On Saturday, the 33-year-old para alpine skier from Connecticut crashed during the downhill competition. Rather than sulk, he celebrated by swinging his outriggers in circles and hollering "Bravo!" and “Grazie Mille!” to the Italian fans as he finished his run.

On Monday, Halgren skied the race of his life. He attacked every turn and took a daring line straight through a world class course that has challenged both Olympic and Paralympic skiers. And he did it on one leg.

Halgren competes in the Standing category of para alpine skiing under the LW2 classification. This means that he has the most significant level of impairment amongst the field of competitors. Only 5 out of 32 alpine skiers are competing with that classification in this year’s games. Halgren’s run was nothing short of legendary — fast enough to earn him a Silver medal.

Halgren appeared amped but gracious during the post-race festivities. He praised his parents, played air guitar on the podium, and channeled his inner NASCAR driver, saying, “You know, I put the pedal to the floor until I see the checkered flag or God. And that’s how you win.”

It’s easy to see why ski racing fans call him the “one-legged Bode Miller". Miller is the most decorated male alpine skier in U.S. Olympic history and was infamous for either crashing or winning. But don’t let all that bravado and leopard print Lycra fool you, because Halgren’s joy clearly comes with some serious perspective.

Halgren's left leg was pinned against a telephone pole following a motorcycle accident in 2013. Paramedics said that he flatlined and was revived four times on the way to the hospital. He spent a month in a coma and woke up to see his leg amputated above the knee.

It was his identical twin brother, Lucas Sven Halgren, who first introduced him to para sport. Sven was an avid skier who volunteered with the adaptive ski program at Mount Snow in Vermont. Together, the brothers set big goals and chased winter around the globe. There years after the accident, Sven was killed in a motorcycle crash while on a ski trip in New Zealand.

Halgren moved to Colorado to commit to training and to pursue the brothers’ Paralympic dream. He worked as a butcher, a janitor, and a youth ski race announcer to pay the bills in the resort town of Winter Park. Eventually, he decided he wasn’t getting enough time on the mountain and moved into his camper van to save money. He also printed stickers with the phrase “SVEND IT” along with a Swedish flag design to honor his brother. Today, those stickers are scattered across ski towns all over the world.

Paralympic media coverage in the U.S. has been disappointing, but Halgren’s interviews have been golden. It is refreshing to see an athlete so unabashedly proud and exuberant and just... themself.

Halgren seems to be the ultimate showman with a deep appreciation of life itself. He is daring, colorful, and unflinchingly honest. Traits that are rarely revealed by athletes in the polished, media-trained environments of modern sport.

When he was asked about his performance immediately after the race, Halgren replied, “Best day of my life, until tomorrow. I’ll repeat that until the day I die.”

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Memories of twin inspire Paralympian Patrick Halgren to spread good vibes — one sticker at a time