Paralympic Athlete Speakers

These award-winning Paralympic athletes are among the greatest in the world. The inspirational adaptive athletes from the Paralympics on this list have overcome enormous obstacles and strive for equal treatment. Paralympic athlete speakers use their platforms to raise awareness and further representation for people with a variety of disabilities. Paralympians share amazing stories and crowning sports achievements make them great keynote speakers.

Dan Cnossen

Seven-Time Paralympic Medalist and Former Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander

Dan Cnossen was a breakout star of the 2018 Paralympics, winning six medals in cross-country skiing and biathlon in a span of eight days. That impressive achievement earned him Best Male Athlete of th

Mallory Weggemann

Five-Time Paralympic Swimming Medalist

Mallory Weggemann is one of the most accomplished Paralympic swimmers today. Weggemann won the 2012 Paralympic gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle. She has won 13 World Championship Paralympic gold m

Chris Waddell

Paralympic Legend

Chris Waddell began skiing at a young age and dreamt of skiing down the slopes and winning a gold medal for the United States of America; unfortunately, his dream shifted gears on December 20, 1988. W

Anastasia Pagonis

Paralympic Champion Swimmer

Anastasia Pagonis is a talented swimmer who won a Paralympic gold medal in the 400 m freestyle and a bronze in the 200 m individual medley at the 2020 Games. At the age of 17, she set both world and A

David Wagner

Paralympic Gold Medalist

David Wagner became a quadriplegic at age 21 when he suffered a spinal cord injury attempting to jump over a wave in Redondo Beach, California. He took a year off from college to recover and began pl

David Brown

Blind Track and Field Star

January 19, 1994, fifteen-months-old, David was diagnosed with (Kawasaki disease) a rare disease which caused swelling in the lymph nodes and can attack the inner organs . In his case, it affected his

David Weir

Paralympic Wheelchair Athlete

David Weir was born with a spinal cord transection that left him unable to use his legs, but he has never used that as an excuse for not achieving his life’s ambitions in athletics. Instead, he has o

Jonathan Lujan

Paralympic Alpine Skier and Marine Corps Veteran

Jonathan Lujan grew up shredding the slopes in Littleton, Colorado and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school, serving honorably from 1993 to 1997. However, after the September 1

Muffy Davis

Three-Time Paralympic Gold Medalist

Muffy Davis is a paralympic athlete competing in several different events. At the young age of 16 Muffy was an active teenager, but a skiing accident left her paralyzed from the chest down. That event

Mike Schultz

Paralympic Medal-Winning Snowboarder

Mike Schultz is a three-time Paralympic medalist in snowboarding. In 2018, Schultz won the gold in snowboard cross and silver in banked slalom. He followed that up with a silver medal in snowboard cro

Jake Adicoff

Gold Medal Winning Paralympic Skier

Despite being visually impaired, Jake Adicoff has excelled in the sport of cross-country skiing. Adikoff is a four-time Paralympic medalist in the sport. He made his debut in 2018, winning silver in t

Marlon Shirley

Paralympic Track & Field Gold Medalist

Marlon Shirley is best known as a Paralympic athlete from the United States. He endured more obstacles throughout his early childhood than most people do throughout their entire life and has come to b

Garrett Geros

Paralympic Medalist in Snowboard Cross

Garrett Geros is a Paralympic snowboarder who won a silver in snowboard cross at the 2022 Games. Geros, unfortunately, suffered a severe car accident at the age of 16 that left his left leg amputated

Megan Blunk

Paralympic Gold Medalist and Depression Speaker

Megan Blunk is a 2016 Rio Paralympic Gold Medalist in wheelchair basketball as well as a woman who has battled mental illness her entire life but has refused to let it stop her. Originally from Gig Ha

Kendall Gretsch

Summer and Winter Paralympic Gold Medalist

Kendall Gretsch is one of the most versatile athletes to have competed in the Paralympics. Gretsch participates as a triathlete, biathlete and cross country skier. Between the summer and winter Games,

Brenna Huckaby

Four-Time Paralympic Medalist in Snowboarding

Brenna Huckaby is one of the top para snowboarders in the world. Huckaby made her Paralympic debut in 2018 and won gold in the snowboard cross and banked slalom. She followed that up with another gold

Rico Roman

Member of the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team

While Rico Roman is a gold medal winner in sledge hockey, prior to that he served in the US Army. In 2000, Roman joined the ARMY and while serving he was hit with an IED. That resulted in Rico's left

Taylor Lipsett

Ice Sledge Hockey Player and Paralympic Gold Medalist

Taylor Lipsett is an Olympic Ice Sledge Hockey player, representing the United States. He is diagnosed with Osteogenesis imperfecta, which is a disease that causes ones bones to be extremely brittle a

Oksana Masters

17-Time Paralympic Medalist in Rowing, Skiing, Cycling and Biathlon

Oksana Masters has become an incredibly accomplished Paralympian in several sports and has an amazing story to tell. Masters was born in Ukraine after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and suffered sever

Stuart Tripp

Paralympian Cyclist

Stuart is an Australian cyclist, who represented his country at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Tripp was born in Traralgon, Victoria and lived a relatively easy life until the age of 23. A tragic car ac

Darren Harris

Two-time Paralympian

Darren Harris is a native of Wolverhampton, England and resides in Sutton Coldfield, England. Harris has flourished on the Paralympic stage despite being visually impaired, and has represented his ho

Nicole Roundy

Paralympic Snowboarder and 24-Time World Cup Medalist

As a child, Nicole was ambitious, energetic and outgoing. She spent much of her childhood outdoors kicking soccer balls and exploring the outdoors with her two older brothers. Then at 8 years old, she

Danelle Umstead

American Alpine Skier and Paralympian

Danelle Umstead is a professional alpine skier who currently competes for the United States Paralympics team. Umstead suffers from an ocular disability that limits her central vision and peripheral vi

Aimee Mullins

Paralympian With Numerous Track & Field Records

Aimee Mullins is an inspirational Paralympic athlete. Mullins had to have both legs amputated when she was a year old due to fibular hemimelia. At Georgetown University, she participated in track an

Amy Purdy

Paralympic Medalist, Adaptive Action Sports Co-Founder and Leading Sports Keynote Speaker

There is not much in life that Amy Purdy has not tackled at full force. Purdy was a 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist in Snowboard Cross. At 19 years old, she had an infection that led to septic shock