US Paralympic Hero Mike Schultz is Not Only Designing His Own Prosthetics But Also For His Competitors

Published 03/02/2022, 12:41 PM EST

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The Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022 is just two days away. And if you haven’t already picked up your favorite athletes yet, now is the time. How about the American snowboarder Mike Schultz? The champion won a gold and a silver medal at Pyeongchang Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 and will look forward to repeating the same here in Beijing.

The 40-year-old snowboarder suffered a snowmobile accident in 2008, because of which his leg was amputated. However, the champion in him didn’t lose the winning zeal, and the next thing the whole world witnessed was an Olympic gold medal around his neck. He is not just a champion snowboarder but also a talented engineer who designed his own prosthetic leg.

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Mike Schultz designs his own prosthetics and also for athletes who compete against him

After suffering a tragic accident, he didn’t give up and made use of his skills aptly to design his own prosthetics. He said, “I’m a garage guy. I had no technical schooling other than high school, but I’ve got a problem-solving mind and I love to create and build things with my hands.”

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The Champion further added, “Yeah, I built my leg three months after becoming an amputee and then seven months out compete at the Summer X Games adaptive supercross on a leg I built in my shop.”

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Mike didn’t just designed prosthetics for himself, but also for the athletes competing against him. In 2010, he started his company, BioDapt, and his products are indeed the best in the market. Mike said, “I show up at the starting line, there’s, like, 15 to 20 other athletes from around the world that are wearing equipment that I built in my shop.”

Mike Schultz is an inspiration

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The coolest thing about Mike Schultz is his unwavering confidence. All he ever focuses on is how to move forward no matter what’s going on in his life. Along with a gold and a silver medal in the Paralympics, he has also won 3 silver medals in the World Championships.

The 40-year-old American snowboarder is going into the Beijing Paralympics as the top favorite. He’ll surely have a tough competition since the opponents are also wearing the same gear which he designed.

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WATCH THIS STORY- Who is the richest Winter Olympian? Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Others Net Worth Comparison

But riding high on confidence and spirit, can Mike Schultz win his second Paralympic gold?

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Written by:

Saurav Panwar

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Saurav Panwar is a US Sports writer at EssentiallySports. A postgraduate in Media and Communication Studies, he shares a profound love for creative direction and filmmaking. Saurav is also an avid reader and a literature devotee whose fandom spreads from classics to sci-fi, non-fiction, plays, comics, and much more.
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