Years on Team: 9

Disabled Class: LW-4 (below knee amputation)

Equipment: Madshus, Rotefella/Alpina

Sponsor: Comcast Media Center

HIGHLIGHTS:
- '04/'05 10km Skate World Champion
- '04/'05 20km Skate World Champion
- '04/'05 World Cup Overall Champion (2 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds)
- '03/‘04 World Cup runner-up (2 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, 2 top fives)
- '03/‘04 wins in skating and classic (Tannheim, AUT)
- Bronze in 20K at ‘03 Worlds
- Four silvers at ‘02 Paralympics
- Gold in 10K Classic at ‘00 World Championships
- Two bronze medals at ‘00 World Championships

2004/2005 SEASON: This year, I achieved my greatest results. In every World Cup race, I made the podium. I battled with Kjarten Haugen of Norway, last years overall champion, all year for the overall World Cup crown which I ultimatly won in the last race. At World Championships, I skated my way to two titles. Outside of racing, I was a coach for the Sun Valley's Adaptive Program and taught recently disabled veterans from the Iraq and Afganistan wars how to ski. At the Jackson Hole Moosechase, a 25km skate race in Jackson, WY, I crossed the finish line in sixth place, skiing with the top able-bodied racers in the intermountain west.

GOALS: In 2006 Paralympics in Torino, Italy, I intend to turn some of the silver medals I won in Salt Lake into gold. After my racing career is over I would like to teach nordic skiing to both able-bodied and disabled individuals.

START-UP: After I lost my right leg below the knee in a 1988 farm accident, I decieded to see what a person with a prosthetic could accomplish. I took up rock climbing and mountain biking. I started mountain bike racing in 1990, switched to road racing in ‘93 and raced at the ‘96 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta (I was fifth in the Velodrome, seventh in the road race). At a local abled-bodied mountain bike race I met the head coach of the Nordic team. He encouraged me to try out for the team. After a considerable amount of time and effort, I am consistantly winning on the world stage.

PARALYMPICS/WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE: '04/'05 Worlds- Gold medals in 10km and 20km skate, Bronze medal in 5km classic '02/'03 Worlds - Bronze medal in 20K CL, 5th in 10K CL, 5th in 5K FR. 2002 Paralympics - Silver medalist in all three individual races plus skiing anchor in silver-medal, 3-man relay. 2000 Worlds - Gold medalist in 10K freestyle, bronze medalist in 5K CL, 20K FR. 1998 Paralympics - 5th in 10K FR, 8th in 5K CL.

PERSONAL: My wife Lauren Scholnick is an employment lawyer in the firm she started and often accompanies me in my various workouts. In high school, I played football and basketball and was a recreational alpine skier. When not training, I enjoy spending time backcountry skiing, mountain biking, fly fishing, cooking with Lauren, and working in my xericscape(low water use) front yard. We have a dog Kirby and two cats Scully and Hobbs.