American star Brenna Huckaby aims for fourth Paralympics gold

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

Huckaby, 29, has enjoyed incredible success as a four-time Paralympic medalist, winning three gold medals and one bronze. She won two gold medals on her Paralympic debut in Pyeongchang in 2018 in slalom and snowboard cross.

In Beijing in 2022, she won gold again in inclined slalom, while also taking bronze in snowboard cross.

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However, Huckaby’s journey to success on the slopes was a triumph in the face of many adversities.

At age 14, Huckaby was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and her right leg had to be amputated. Her athletic career began as a competitive gymnast, but the Baton Rouge, Louisiana native turned to snowboarding after her amputation.

As Huckaby prepares to compete again in Italy, she said one of her favorite memories throughout the trip was crossing the finish line in 2018 and seeing her family again.

“One of the biggest (memories) right now is the 2018 Games – the first gold medal, crossing the finish line and being able to hug my family. I’m really looking forward to having a similar experience at (those) games knowing that my family will be there,” Huckaby told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview with Hershey’s, celebrating happiness as the true gold.

“To me, I feel like we’ve already won just knowing that I can share this experience with them. We weren’t able to do that in China. So I’m very 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. She gave birth to her daughter Lilah in 2016 and her second daughter Sloan in 2020.

Huckaby said balancing being a mom while snowboarding at an elite level, and the training that entails, can be a challenge and requires a lot of self-compassion.

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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 so difficult, I feel like it. I don’t even know if that’s the right word to say because it’s definitely uneven a lot of the time. But I think you have to have, you know, a lot of compassion for yourself because you’re not always going to get there, but also, you know, recognize, hey, I’m not always going to get there. So how can I step back, take a break, see where I’m needed right now, then make “These toughest decisions right now, I’m focusing on my family, which means I can’t dedicate the little extra time to it that maybe some of my competitors can,” Huckaby said.

“And also when it’s crunch time, knowing, okay, hey family, I love you so much, but right now I have to focus on my sport. I think that’s the hardest part, is being your own boss to tell you what to do. I think it might be a lot easier to have someone wagging their finger and you’re like, ‘Oh, sorry. I have to go, the big boss tells me.’ But having to be, you know, the “bad guy” in these situations where you have to leave your family can be difficult. So having a lot of compassion for yourself and knowing that you’re doing the best you can, uh, and that’s the best you can do.”

Huckaby said that now that her children are old enough to keep memories, Lilah being nine and Sloan five, she hopes they remember her journey, that they are worth working for when they bet on themselves.

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

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Brenna Huckaby poses for a photo during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in preparation for the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics at the Javits Center in New York, New York, October 28, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)

“We’re worth taking this time. And it’s not always motivating and it’s going to feel painful, but in those moments, that’s when you grow as a person and you say yes to yourself and you bet on yourself. And I also know that sometimes I’m afraid to set out on a course and sometimes I’m afraid to be next to the other runners, but that real bravery is doing things even if you’re afraid. And so I hope that they will see this and be able to apply this and gain their own self-confidence.

Huckaby said one of his “main goals” is to enjoy the process, because it’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 that’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 takes a moment, a pause, even if it’s just 30 seconds, to appreciate how far I’ve come and where I am. And most of the time I do that on the mountain and I look out and see the other peaks and the trees and I’m able to remind myself that, yes, everything is okay. So you just have to take a tiny break and that’s where you find happiness.”

While being a mother training to become a world-class snowboarder, Huckaby was also on the front lines orchestrating a campaign for inclusion.

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Olympic para snowboard athlete Brenna Huckaby speaks with the media during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in preparation for the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics at the Javits Center in New York, New York, October 28, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

The Paralympic qualification guide excluded the LL1 lower extremity category, and Huckaby filed a lawsuit to fight for his right to compete in medal events reserved for less disabled athletes.

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

“It was a tough time, it was really hard to find moments of happiness,” Huckaby said with a smile. “But I think one of the things that really came out of it for me was that I always said it was a lot easier to fight for other people than for myself. And that was one thing that was really hard because I felt like I was fighting for myself. But actually what came out of it was a reminder that it’s always been bigger than me.”

“It’s about these kids and even these adults who are going through limb loss and life-changing experiences. Like, they deserve to see themselves represented in every scenario. And for me, seeing women who are above-the-knee amputees snowboarding, that was life-changing. And so, how do we make sure that continues so that future generations of people believe in themselves.”

Huckaby was the first Paralympic athlete to be featured 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), for sure, I know it’s 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, who had just lost my leg, and who wondered if I would ever be seen as beautiful, as adorable, as dignified 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 fill and she will do everything in her power to represent it well.

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

The 29-year-old said Hershey’s Happiness as a Campaign for Real Gold resonated with her because the happy moments throughout the process are what matters most.

“When I heard about the Happiness is the Real Gold campaign, I was immediately sold because it’s something that I tried to really implement in my journey, like how can I make sure that at the end of the day, winning everything or losing everything was worth it and for me, it’s finding those moments of happiness and joy and also knowing that this is the real process that is the life that has been lived throughout the journey and and that’s what is the most important,” Huckaby said.

Families play a vital role in every athlete’s journey, and in every moment of the process, finding happiness in the everyday is what endures.