Winter Paralympic athletes have found business opportunities : NPR
Zach Williams, an American para-alpine skier, lowers himself into his casting gear. Williams was already a licensed prosthetist when he discovered his sport: sit-skiing. A double amputee, he has been walking with prostheses since the age of two. Today, his company helps other Paralympic athletes find the right fit for their competition gear.
Emily Chen-Newton
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Emily Chen-Newton
PARK CITY, Utah — At the Winter Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina, some athletes are using prosthetics. But because everyone’s body is different, competitors sometimes have to modify or design their own specialized equipment to suit their own disability. And some athletes are getting into the prosthetics business.
Zach Williams is an American para-alpine skier who missed these Games due to injury. He was already a licensed prosthetist when he was introduced to his sport, sit-skiing. After a double amputation, he has walked with prosthetics since the age of two.
“I just knew the difference between something that’s really made for me and feels right to me, and something that just comes commercially,” Williams said.
Looking for a more personalized seat for his ski equipment, Williams applied his expertise in making prosthetic leg molds to the bucket seat of his sit-ski. He wants a precise fit that doesn’t require extra padding. Foam padding, he explains, can hinder the athlete’s transfer of energy to the snow.
“It’s like driving your car with underinflated tires, right? You’ll turn the steering wheel, but it just feels a little soft and spongy. It won’t respond right away.”
Williams achieves that perfect fit for himself and others by creating a mold of their lower body at his store in Park City, Utah. Then he builds the rigid seat around it with layers of carbon fiber and other fabrics that cure with epoxy. He also used strategically placed fiberglass and Kevlar strips.
While Williams is concerned with stiffness and response, Paralympic snowboarder Mike Schultz focuses on suspension. Schultz grew up on a small family farm, and when his leg was amputated after a snowmobile racing accident, he realized his upbringing had given him some perspective.
“If no one can do it, can I do it myself? Can I improve it?” he asked.
Mike Schultz of Team USA competes in the quarterfinals of the Para Snowboard Cross at the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games on March 8, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
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After his amputation, Schultz wanted to get back into high-impact sports and couldn’t find a prosthesis that could support him. He then remembers working on farm equipment and adjusting the suspension components on his snowmobiles. “Basically, I’m just building a suspension for my body, my leg,” he said.
He created a specialty knee for himself and founded his company, BioDapt, in 2010. The company makes knees and feet for sports, including snowboard cross, where athletes compete against each other. As a veteran of the sport, Schultz loves seeing competitors in his gear.
“The coolest thing is when I get to the starting gate and I look through, and they’re all using the equipment I just put together for them in my workshop.”
Whether or not Schultz ends up winning a medal at these Winter Paralympics, he said, “either way, I win because you know the equipment we develop here at my company helps other athletes around the world compete at the highest level.” »
More than two dozen athletes use its components in Milan and Cortina. To work properly, these parts must fit perfectly.
Ronnie Dickson, another amputee and prosthetist, uses Shultz’s components at his clinic in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He explained how a socket should fit an athlete’s lower leg. If you’re snowboarding, he says, “you might be in such a deep squat that your butt is almost touching the ground. So we have to make sure the socket doesn’t hinder any of those ranges of motion.”
Ronnie Dickson stands in front of leg molds in his workshop in Chattanooga, Tennessee. An amputee and prosthetist, he works with several athletes who hope to compete in the 2028 Summer Paralympics.
Emily Chen-Newton
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Emily Chen-Newton
Dickson is also a climber and works with several athletes who hope to compete in the sport’s Paralympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games. In his workshop, he uses a giant abrasive belt to shape the edges of a leg socket.
Despite the buzz of the abrasive belt, Dickson said, “Here we have what is basically a giant Dremel, so I can use different cones to polish the edges or maybe get in a socket and do a little grinding.
He said all components must accommodate an athlete’s unique amputation, “because when that is the case, you know you can engage in a multitude of advanced climbing techniques. And you can do all of that with prosthetics, if your mind is open to it.”
Dickson has retired from competitive climbing. But he will compete in the Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles in two years, he said, encouraging those pushing the sport to its highest level.
