Josh Dueck, World Champion Skier

At Trabasack, we think it’s important to highlight the achievements and strengths of people who have gone on to accomplish great things despite their disabilities. We believe it is important to focus on peoples’ abilities and so we’re looking at the career and experiences of World Champion Ski Racer Josh Dueck.

Josh Dueck aspired to be an award-winning free-skier and was already a coach to many world renowned stars and athletes. Unfortunately, in March 2004 Josh seriously misjudged his speed whilst out skiing and this resulted in serious injury. Josh dislocated his back, severed his spinal cord and was permanently paralysed from the waist down.

In his own words, he was told by the doctor in the hospital that he’d soon “kick ass in a wheelchair” and his attitude remained powerfully upbeat telling his former colleagues and friends to “celebrate skiing for me, love it the way I loved it, there’s nothing to mourn here.” John knew he’d be back in a sit-ski as soon as possible and people wouldn’t even notice he’d been gone!

His career sky rocketed at this point. He spent 2005 learning to ride his sit-ski and was introduced to ski racing in 2006. Despite believed ski racing wasn’t for him; he threw himself into it and won the Canadian Ski Racing Championships in 2007. By 2008 he found himself travelling the world on the World Circuit and by 2009 was the World Champion. This winning form just continued and by 2010 he walked away with the Winter Paralympic Games Silver Medal for Canada, in front of a home crowd in Whistler, BC. He has gone onto win the Monoskier X at the Winter X Games this year.

Despite all his triumphs, Josh sees himself as a free skier and feels he owes it to himself to throw himself back into free skiing with his friends and colleagues of old. He explains that although it’s hard to erase memories of the accident, ‘nothing beats the feeling of flying free’ and you can see some of his live action in the below video: