Owen Pick

Owen Pick (born 9 July 1991[1]) is a British war veteran and snowboarder. Pick was injured in 2010 while serving in Afghanistan, losing his right leg. As part of his rehabilitation he was encouraged to try various sports. He subsequently found success in world para-snowboarding events, including representing his country in the Winter Olympics in his sport and as a flag bearer.

Owen Pick
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1991-07-09) 9 July 1991
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Sport
SportSnowboarding
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals2018
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing  Great Britain
Para Snowboard World Championships
2017SB-LL2
Updated on 12 March 2018.

Biography

Pick is originally from Cambridge, United Kingdom.[2] He lost his right leg in January 2010 while serving with the British Army in Afghanistan.[3] He had joined the Royal Anglian Regiment straight after leaving school and was 18 when he stood on an improvised explosive device (IED). The explosion caused significant damage to his leg and doctors battled to save it until Pick decided in August 2011 to have it amputated below the knee. While recovering in hospital Pick watched snowboarding for the first time.[4][5] The charity Blesma gave him the chance to try wakeboarding and snowboarding and he discovered his talent on the snow in Colorado.[4][6] Pick was nominated by Blesma and subsequently won the Sporting Excellence prize at the Soldiering On Awards in 2017.[7]

Career

Pick won a silver medal in the banked slalom SB-LL2 event at the 2017 Para Snowboard World Championships held at the Big White Ski Resort in Canada, followed by two podium finishes at the World Cup in La Molina, Spain.[8][5]

He represented Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Paralympics, competing in Banked Slalom and SBX events alongside Ben Moore and James Barnes-Miller. Snowboarding was first added to the Paralympics in Sochi 2014, with 2018 being the first time that Great Britain has been represented. Pick describes his pride for being selected: "I feel honoured to be among the first British athletes competing in snowboard", as well as describing himself as the "least experienced snowboarder" in his category.[9][2]

Pick was chosen to carry the flag at the opening ceremony, leading the 17-strong team out in the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.[10] Pick was eliminated in the quarter finals of the Men's snowboard cross SB-LL2.[11]

References
  1. "Owen Pick". xgames. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. Myers, Rebecca (28 January 2018). "Disabled war hero Owen Pick seeks snow gold". The Times. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  3. "Para Snowboard World Championships: GB's Owen Pick and Ben Moore win medals". BBC News. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  4. Lawson, Ross (5 February 2018). "Owen Pick finds the ultimate motivation in snowboarding". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  5. Tapper, James (10 March 2018). "Winter Paralympics inspires more UK disabled athletes to take to slopes". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  6. "Owen Pick". Blesma. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  7. Shimwell, Chris (30 March 2017). "Veteran Owen Pick of Barton Mills wins sporting excellence award for snowboarding despite amputation". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  8. "Owen Pick: No gold, no problem". International Paralympic Committee. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  9. "ParalympicsGB selects nine ski and snowboard athletes for PyeongChang 2018". ParalympicsGB. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  10. "Meet Winter Paralympics flag bearer and British war veteran Owen Picks". ITV News. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  11. "Results – Men's Snowboard Cross 1/8 Final 1 SB-LL2". Pyeongchang 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
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