Danelle Umstead

Paralympic skier Danelle (D'Aquanni) Umstead was born on Feb. 15, 1972, in Des Plaines, Ill. Diagnosed at age 13 with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition, she was introduced to the sport of adaptive skiing by her father when she was 29. She took to the sport immediately, crediting it not just with giving her a revived passion for life, but for her marriage, since she met her husband, Rob, while skiing in New Mexico. With Rob as her sighted skiing guide, she made her Paralympic debut at the Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010, where she won bronze medals in downhill and super combined. At the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games, she again took the bronze in super combined, placing fourth in super-G and fifth in downhill. She was named to the 2018 Paralympic Team to compete at the Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. In 2011 the United States Ski and Snowboard Association named her its Adaptive Athlete of the Year. Off the slopes Umstead mentors junior disabled athletes, sharing her story and offering encouragement, and travels the world as a motivational speaker. She and her husband have one son, Brocton, and the family lives in Park City, Utah.