January 5, 1972
Chris Klebl
Chris was born an American citizen in Germany and grew up in Austria, moving to the United States at the age of 15. He earned a degree in Economics from Syracuse University. In 1995 he suffered a back injury in a snowboarding accident which left him paralysed below the waist. After living and working in Hawaii and then California, he moved to Colorado and took up sit-skiing.
At the start of his racing career, Chris competed for the United States and represented that country at the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in Torino and at the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver. In 2014, Chris skied for Canada at the Paralympic Games in Sochi, where he won his first Paralympic gold medal in the 10 kilometre sitski event. In 2018 he again represented Canada at the PyeongChang Paralympics, and was part of the 4 x 2.5 kilometre Mixed Relay team which won a silver medal, with team-mates Mark Arendz, Emily Young and Natalie Wilkie.
In International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Cup skiing, Chris won 11 medals for the United States between 2007 and 2008. After moving to Canmore, Alberta in 2011, Chris skied for his new country at the 2011 IPC Biathlon and Cross Country Skiing World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, winnng a gold medal in the 15 kilometre race, and a silver medal in the sprint. In total from 2007 to 2017, Chris won a total of 4 gold medals, 15 silver and 3 bronze in World Cup skiing.
Sources: International Paralympic Committee (PIC), Wikipedia