Serving in the United States Army, the 39-year-old faced a life-changing accident that cost him his left leg. Many would have stopped there, but he didn’t. He found a new way to serve his country on the ice in sled hockey instead of on the battlefield. However, Jen Lee is heading into his fourth and final Paralympic Games at the 2026 Winter Paralympics from March 6 to 15. One question drives him forward: What does it truly mean to compete for your country again?

On a recent episode of My New Favorite Paralympian with Adam Rippon, he described the moment he learned he had made the roster.

“You know, not just a dream come true, but a surreal experience for sure. You get the call from your general manager saying you make the roster. You’re kind of just overwhelmed, you kind of just like realize, oh my gosh, like what, you know, am I dreaming, you know, in a way?” Jen Lee said.

The excitement was amplified by the knowledge that his hard work, perseverance, and experience had earned him another shot at representing his country on the world stage.

For more than a decade, Jen Lee has been a steady presence in the U.S. sled hockey program. He made his Paralympic debut at Sochi 2014 as backup to legendary goalie Steve Cash, helping bring home gold, and repeated the feat in PyeongChang 2018 in the same role.

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By Beijing 2022, Lee had taken over as starting goaltender, leading Team USA to another gold medal. But for him, the journey has always been about more than winning.

Before hockey, Lee served as an aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Army for over ten years, retiring in 2015 as a staff sergeant after a medical discharge. He often credits that experience for shaping how he approaches both sport and life today.

“Growing up, you know, I understand playing in a sub-team sport, but I didn’t really understand the dynamic of like what it is to be selfless, what it is to be, you know, be a good team player, and everything that little things you do to, you know, help your team succeed,” Jen Lee explained.

“The military pretty much ingrained that in you. You can’t do this by yourself. Your brother and your sister in arms next to you,  they relied on you and relied on them, you know. The camaraderie really helped me understand what it takes to get the mission done, or get the objective done as a team, not as an individual. You got to enjoy not just the winning side of it, but also the losing side, the pain and the hurt and the struggle.”

Interestingly, he also made history as one of the first active-duty soldiers selected for a U.S. Paralympic winter sports team in the 2014 Winter Paralympics. Now, as the 2026 Winter Paralympics approach, Lee is focused on keeping Team USA’s gold medal streak alive.

As recently as the 2026 Winter Olympics, Team USA swept gold in both the men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments. Now attention shifts to para ice hockey, where the Americans hope to win the last hockey game. Interestingly, Jen Lee, representing the U.S might never have found his way to the sport if a life-changing accident had not pushed him toward the ice.

The crash that led Jen Lee from the army to Paralympic Ice Hockey

Born in Taiwan, Jen Lee moved to the United States and was raised in San Francisco. Like many kids, he spent his childhood playing with G.I. Joe toys and watching war movies. But the feeling of wanting to serve became real during his teenage years. When the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, shook the United States. Watching the country come together in that moment left a lasting impact on him.

So, Lee joined the United States Army and began working as a helicopter and aircraft mechanic.  For several years that was how he represented the United States. In March 2009, however, things changed.

At the time, Jen Lee was serving in the Army and stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. One afternoon he went for a motorcycle ride with fellow soldiers along Interstate 95 near Jacksonville, Florida, heading back to base. As he was riding in the right lane, a middle-lane car swerved over without noticing him.

The driver tried to correct it but lost control, and the vehicle fishtailed into Lee’s motorcycle, throwing him onto the road. Despite the violent crash, Lee remained conscious and immediately understood how serious the injury was.

“I was definitely conscious, so I knew that I wasn’t dying,” Jen Lee said of the moment.  And doctors later had to amputate it above the knee to save his life.

But then, for recovery, Lee was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center. So, as a part of therapy, doctors encouraged patients to try adaptive sports.

One of those activities he tried was sled hockey. Jen Lee first tried the sport in 2009. Within months, he was taking the sport seriously, and not long after, he earned a place on the U.S. national sled hockey team.

Sure, the motorcycle crash changed the direction of his life in a way he never expected. It ended his ability to serve in the same role in the Army. But it also opened a completely new path- ice hockey. That led him to become a three-time Paralympic gold medalist for Team USA.