Photo by Alessandro Scarpa
Joe Pleban of Silverthorne has turned his adaptive snowboard dreams into a reality and is racing like a medal contender a year out from the 2022 Beijing Paralympics in China.
“It would mean the world,” Pleban said. “It’s the whole goal, everything we are working toward. … I want to be able to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to the big show. I’m going to go represent the U.S. for you guys, and all the support you put into me is going to pay off.”
The Fredericksburg, Virginia, native won a pair of bronze medals at a double World Cup snowboardcross event in Colere, Italy, in April. It was the only World Cup of the short international season for American para snowboarders.