PYEONGCHANG – He skied for the first time when he was 3 years old and he continued, even after having part of his leg amputated when he was 6.
Now, Michigan native Jamie Stanton, 23, has a gold medal from slalom at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. He also competed in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.
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"It’s been an awesome seven years, but it’s been a tough seven years. I’ve had to sacrifice a lot but I feel like it all paid off today. This moment, I can’t quite put it into words yet. I’m so happy everything I’ve always worked for finally paid off," Stanton said after winning bronze.
Stanton was born with fibular hemimelia, a growth deficiency of the fibula. His right leg was removed below the knee.
Stanton is from Oakland Township. He graduated from Rochester Adams High School in Rochester Hills in 2012 and earned a finance degree from the University of Denver in 2017. While in college, he received the Freshman of the Year Award in 2013.
He was introduced to the Paralympic sport in 2011, when a friend convinced him to enter the Michigan Adaptive Sports State Championships ski races. He won back-to-back titles at the state championships. He then met Erik Petersen of the National Sports Center for the Disabled.
Petersen brought Stanton to his first race camp in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Stanton was named the 2016 Adaptive Athlete of the Year by the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Male Athlete of the Month for January 2016 by the United States Olympic Committee.