The United States won their first medal in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics today, thanks to an athlete named Alana Nichols. Nichols is not only a gold-medal winning medalist in the giant slalom, she is also a gold-medal winning basketball Paralympian.

Nichols became disabled in 2000 when she was out snowboarding with her friends. She decided to try a back flip. It would be her last attempt. She landed on her back, on a rock, and had to be transported to the hospital. Alana found out that she was paralyzed from the waist down.

She earned a basketball scholarship to the University of Arizona, and from there ended up on the US Paralympic team. She ended up with a gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Just 16 months ago, she started training as a Paralympic Skier. When she told her coach that she wanted to make it to Vancouver, they told her to forget about it, and to just concentrate on getting better. One gold medal later, she proved them wrong.

Congratulations, Alana, on winning the first gold medal for the United States in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics; and for winning gold medals in both summer and winter sports.

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