American star Brenna Huckaby seeks her fourth Paralympic gold medal

American Paralympic snowboarder Brenna Huckaby is preparing for her third Paralympic Games.

Huckaby, 29, has had incredible success as a four-time Paralympic medalist, 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.

At Beijing 2022, he again won gold in the banked slalom and bronze in snowboard cross.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com

However, Huckaby’s path to success on the court has been one of triumph in the face of much adversity.

At age 14, Huckaby was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and had to have his 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, he said one of his favorite memories during the trip was crossing the finish line in 2018 and seeing his family.

“However, one of the biggest (memories) right now is the 2018 Games: the first gold, crossing the finish line and hugging my family. I’m looking forward to having a similar experience at (these) games knowing that my family will be there,” Huckaby told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview with Hershey’s, celebrating happiness as true gold.

“For me, I feel like we’ve already won just knowing that I can share this experience with them. We couldn’t do that in China. So I’m really excited to be able to do it here.”

In addition to being a four-time Paralympic medalist and five-time world champion gold medalist, Huckaby is also a mother of two children. She gave birth to her daughter Lilah in 2016 and her second daughter, Sloan, in 2020.

Huckaby said balancing being a mother and snowboarding at an elite level, and the training that comes with it, can be challenging and requires a lot of self-compassion.

US OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL SNOWBOARDER CHLOE KIM’S MILAN-CORTINA HOPES IN DOUBT AFTER SHOCKING INJURY

Team USA Paralympic snowboard 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 very difficult, I think. I don’t know if that’s the right word because it’s definitely uneven most 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 get this right. So how can I step back, pause, see where I’m needed right now and then make harder decisions right now, my focus is on my family, which means I can’t dedicate that little bit of extra time that maybe some of my competitors can,” Huckaby said.

“And also when push comes to shove, knowing, okay, hey family, I love you so much, but now I have to focus on my sport. I think the hardest part is having to be your own boss to tell them what to do. I think it might be a lot easier to have someone waving a finger and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I have to go, the big boss is telling me.’ But having to be, you know, the ‘bad guy’ in those situations where you have to leave your family can be difficult. So have a lot of self-compassion for yourself and know that you are doing the best you can, and that is the best you can do.

Huckaby said that now that her children are old enough to retain memories — Lilah is nine and Sloan is five — she hopes they remember their journey, which is worth the effort when they bet on themselves.

“I think right now, if my kids are nine and five, they’re old enough to hold back and see what I’m doing and make some decisions for themselves. I hope they see that it’s not always easy, but when we make the decision to bet on ourselves, it’s worth the effort,” Huckaby said.

LINDSEY VONN, 41, CONTINUES A NOTABLE RECOMMENDATION WITH A WIN IN THE DOWNTOWN WORLD CUP BEFORE THE OLYMPICS

Brenna Huckaby poses for a photo 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. (Robert Deutsch/Image Images)

“It’s worth taking that time. And it’s not always motivating and it will feel exhausting, but in those moments, that’s where you grow as a person and say yes to yourself and bet on yourself. And you also know that sometimes I’m afraid of falling in a race and sometimes I’m afraid to be next to the other riders, but true bravery is doing things even when you’re afraid. So I hope they see that and can apply that and gain confidence in themselves.”

Huckaby has said that his “core focus” has been on enjoying the process, because that’s the only part of the journey that is guaranteed.

“I would say over the last eight years, you know, we’ve found a way to enjoy the process because it’s the only part that’s guaranteed. We don’t know if we’re going to win gold. We don’t know if we will, you know, we don’t even know if we’ll make it to the game sometimes. And so how can I make this process and this journey worth it?” Huckaby said.

“For me, it’s taking a moment, a pause, even if it’s just 30 seconds, to appreciate how far I’ve come and where I am. And a lot of times I do that on the mountain and I look out and see the other peaks and the trees and I can remind myself that yes, things are okay. So, it’s just taking a little pause and that’s where happiness is found.”

While she is a mother training to be a world-class snowboarder, Huckaby was also on the front lines orchestrating an inclusion campaign.

FIGURE SKATER MAXIM NAUMOV MAKES THE US OLYMPIC TEAM ONE YEAR AFTER LOSING BOTH PARENTS IN A TRAGIC PLANE CRASH IN DC

Olympian Brenna Huckaby, 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 that are limited to athletes with fewer disabilities.

Huckaby said fighting for her right to compete was a difficult time, but also a reminder that her journey is bigger than herself.

“It was a difficult time, it was very difficult to find moments of happiness,” Huckaby said with a smile. “But I think one of the things that really came out of that for me is that I always said it’s a lot easier to fight for other people than it is for myself. And that was something that was really difficult because I felt like I was standing up for myself. But truly, what came out of that was a reminder that this has always been bigger than me.”

“It’s about those kids and even adults who are going through limb loss and life-changing experiences. They deserve to see themselves represented in every setting. And for me, seeing women with above-knee amputations snowboarding, that changed my life. 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 appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which was another moment she said was bigger than herself.

“I would say it’s similar (to fighting for your ranking), 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 a leg and was wondering if I would ever be seen as beautiful, lovable, worthy and yes, it was scary. But I’m so glad I did it,” Huckaby said.

Huckaby said representing the United States is an important role to play and he will do everything in his power to represent it well.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP

The four-time Paralympic medalist eats a Hershey’s chocolate bar. (Hershey)

The 29-year-old said Hershey’s happiness as the true gold campaign caught her attention because the moments of happiness throughout the process are what matter most.

“When I found out that happiness is the real golden campaign, I was immediately sold because that’s something that I’ve really been trying to implement in my journey, like how can I make sure that at the end of the day, winning or losing everything has been worth it and for me it has been finding those moments of happiness and joy and also knowing that that is the true process, the life that has been lived throughout the journey and that is the most important thing,” Huckaby said.

Families play an essential role in every athlete’s journey, and at every moment of the process, finding happiness in routine is what lasts.