#andrew kurka

[netcrackertech]

Netcracker Continues Its Support of the U.S. Paralympic Ski and Snowboard Team at Adaptive Spirit 2024

Netcracker Technology announced today that it will continue its long-standing support of Adaptive Spirit’s annual event in Vail, Colorado, taking place on April 4-7. This unique event brings together members of the telecommunications industry and elite athletes, including Andrew Kurka, a U.S. Paralympic gold medal downhill skier sponsored by Netcracker, to network and raise funds for the U.S. Paralympic Ski and Snowboard Team. Read more - https://www.netcracker.com/news/press-releases/netcracker-continues-its-support-of-the-u.s.-paralympic-ski-and-snowboard-team-at-adaptive-spirit-2024.html

[hairycelebs]

[celebpits]

[libraryofsports]

[tjkl895]

Steve Nyman, Alpine Skiing Hagan Kearney, Snowboarding Evan Weinstock, Bobsled Travis Ganong, Alpine Skiing Joey Mantia, Speedskating John Daly, Skeleton Racing Gus Kenworthy, Freestyle Skiing Andrew Kurka, Paralympic Alpine Skiing Chris Mazdzer, Luge Tucker West, Luge

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGJoElM9A7w)

[homorazzi]

US Winter Olympians Go Shirtless For Cosmopolitan

US Winter Olympians Go Shirtless For Cosmopolitan

When it comes to the Olympics, the summer edition is more my jam. Gymnastics, swimming, diving… need I go on. After watching this clip, I might have to change my tune.

Ten sexy athletes from Team USA get half-naked to deliver some Olympic-themed pick-up lines. “I wanted the gold medal in Sochi, but I settled for silver because I wanted to make sure you come first,” Gus Kenworthysays in the…

[xtruss]

Paralympics Photos 2022, China 🇨🇳!

Andrew Kurka of the United States competes in the men’s downhill, sitting, at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Pamela Wilson of the United States pushes a stone as teammates Steve Emt and Dave Samsa assist during their wheelchair curling match against Norway at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Monday, March 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

South Korea’s Choi Kwang-hyuk, right, battles for the puck against Tyler McGregor of Canada during they para ice hockey preliminary match at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Thomas Charles Walsh of the United States competes in the men’s super-G, standing, at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Sunday, March 6, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Anna-Lena Forster of Germany reacts after competing in the women’s super combined, slalom, sitting event at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Monday, March 7, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China’s Wang Haitao, center, Yan Zhuo, right, and Zhang Mingliang react during their wheelchair curling match against Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Monday, March 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Aaron Ewen of New Zealand competes in the men’s super-G, sitting, at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Sunday, March 6, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Czech Republic’s Alex Ohar, center, battles for the puck against China’s Tian Jintao during their para ice hockey match at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Sunday, March 6, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Germany’s Leonie Maria Walter, right, and her guide Pirmin Strecker celebrate, winning the women’s middle distance vision impaired event at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Italian players celebrate their victory over Slovakia during their para ice hockey match at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Sunday, March 6, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

[jeremiahingham]

Best of YouTube: 9 Examples of Specification Gaming | AI systems do what you say, and it's hard to say exactly what you mean. Let's look at a list of real life examples of specification gaming! Related Videos from me: Reward Hacking: https://youtu.be/92qDfT8pENs Reward Hacking Reloaded: https://youtu.be/46nsTFfsBuc What Can We Do About Reward Hacking?: https://youtu.be/13tZ9Yia71c The list: https://ift.tt/3cabmvh The blogpost this video is based on: https://ift.tt/2GYeFct The newer blogpost that happened while I was making this video: https://ift.tt/2RWPUle (Explosion graphic from videezy.com) Thanks to my wonderful patrons: https://ift.tt/2wMFPxo Gladamas James Steef Scott Worley Chad Jones Chris Canal David Reid Francisco Tolmasky Frank Kurka Jake Ehrlich JJ Hepboin Kellen lask Michael Andregg Pedro A Ortega Peter Rolf Said Polat Teague Lasser Allen Faure Bryce Daifuku Clemens Arbesser Eric James Erik de Bruijn Jason Hise jugettje dutchking Ludwig Schubert Qeith Wreid Andrew Harcourt anul kumar sinha Ben Glanton Benjamin Watkin Cooper Lawton Duncan Orr Eric Scammell Euclidean Plane Ian Munro Igor Keller Ingvi Gautsson James Hinchcliffe Jeroen De Dauw Jon Halliday Jonatan R Julius Brash Jérôme Beaulieu Laura Olds Luc Ritchie Lupuleasa Ionuț Michael Greve Nathan Fish Nicholas Guyett Paul Hobbs Sean Gibat Sebastian Birjoveanu Shevis Johnson Taras Bobrovytsky Tim Neilson Tom O'Connor Tomas Sayder Tyler Herrmann Vaskó Richárd Will Glynn 12tone 14zRobot Alan Bandurka Alexander Brown Anders Öhrt Andreas Blomqvist Andrew Weir Andy Kobre Anne Kohlbrenner Anthony Chiu Archy de Berker Ben Archer Ben H Ben Schultz Bertalan Bodor Brian Gillespie Bryan Egan Caleb Chris Dinant Daniel Bartovic Daniel Eickhardt Daniel Kokotajlo Daniel Munter Darko Sperac David Morgan DeepFriedJif Devon Bernard Diagon Dmitri Afanasjev Fionn Fraser Cain Garrett Maring Ghaith Tarawneh HD Hendrik ib_ Igor (Kerogi) Kostenko Ihor Mukha Ivan James Fowkes Jannik Olbrich Jason Cherry Jeremy Jesper Andersson Jim T Johannes Walter Josh Trevisiol Julian Schulz Jussi Männistö Kabs Kasper Kasper Schnack Kees Klemen Slavic Leo lyon549 Marc Pauly Marcel Ward Marco Tiraboschi Marko Topolnik Martin Ottosen Matt Stanton Melisa Kostrzewski Michael Bates Michael Kuhinica Miłosz Wierzbicki Mo Hossny Nathaniel Raddin Oct todo22 Owen Campbell-Moore Parker Lund Patrick Henderson Paul Moffat Poker Chen Rob Dawson Robert Hildebrandt robertvanduursen Robin Scharf Russell schoen Scott Viteri Simon Pilkington Stellated Hexahedron Tatiana Ponomareva Ted Stokes Tendayi Mawushe Thomas Dingemanse

[winterolympicssports2018-blog]

Former Navy SEAL wins 6 medals

Click here for More Olympics Updates https://www.winterolympian.com/former-navy-seal-wins-6-medals/

Former Navy SEAL wins 6 medals

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2018 Paralympics: Former Navy SEAL wins six medals and other outstanding U.S. performances

Oksana Masters, Declan Farmer and Brenna Huckaby also top the podium for U.S. team.

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USA TODAY Sports Published 1:44 p.m. ET March 18, 2018 | Updated 1:53 p.m. ET March 18, 2018

Dan Cnossen competes during the men’s sitting 7.5K cross-country race at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre in the Paralympic Winter Games on March 17. He won six medals in Pyeongchang.(Photo: Thomas Lovelock, AP)

Retired Navy SEAL Dan Cnossen finished the Paralympics in Pyeongchang with six medals, taking home a medal in every individual competition he entered in Nordic skiing.

Cnossen’s final medal came in the men’s sitting middle-distance cross-country race Saturday in which he won silver. 

Cnossen made his second Paralympic team after competing in Sochi. He was serving as the platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan in September 2009 when he stepped on an IED. As a result of his injuries, Cnossen lost both legs just above the knee.

He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor from the Secretary of the Navy for his service in combat.

Here’s a look at other outstanding performances at the Games: 

Nordic skier Oksana Masters took home two gold medals and five medals overall just a few weeks after falling on the ice and injuring her elbow.  A four-time Paralympian who also has competed in rowing and cycling at the Summer Paralympics, Masters was selected as the U.S. flag bearer at the closing ceremony. 

In men’s sled hockey, the United States beat Canada for gold with a game-winner in overtime from Declan Farmer. He also scored a late goal with less than a minute in regulation to give the Americans a 1-1  tie and a shot to win it in OT. Farmer, a Princeton student from Florida, was the tournament’s leading scorer with 11 goals and 17 total points. He was named the tournament’s MVP, while teammate Brody Roybal had 10 goals and six assists. It was a record third consecutive gold for the United States in sled hockey. 

In snowboarding, Brenna Huckaby swept the two gold medals in her classification, adding the banked slalom gold. A former gymnast from Louisiana, Huckaby made her Paralympic debut in Pyeongchang with her fiance and baby girl among those cheering her on. U.S. snowboarders claimed 13 medals in snowboard-cross and banked slalom, with golds also won by Mike Schultz, Noah Elliott and Mike Minor. 

After breaking his back during a training run in Sochi four years ago, Alpine skier Andrew Kurka made a triumphant return to the Games, winning gold in the downhill and silver in Super-G. 

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[netcrackertech]

Adaptive Spirit was held on April 7-10 in Vail, Colorado, by Adaptive Spirit, a nonprofit trade association for the telecommunications industry. Telecom companies and adaptive athletes from around the world gathered at the annual networking and fundraising event to help build relationships and raise funds for the U.S. Paralympic Ski and Snowboard Team.

[jculture-en]

Fishing Trip With Gold Medalist Andrew Kurka Up For Bid In Online Auction To Benefit Para Athletes

#WinterOlympic #PyeongChang2018 [TeamUSA]Andrew Kurka competes in the men’s downhill event at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games on Mar. 10, 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. There’s a place where physical distancing is easier than …

[usacurrentnews-blog]

Paralympians return haul of medals from PyeongChang, say they got an edge from Adaptive Spirit fundraising VAIL — Four years after breaking his back in a downhill training crash at the Sochi Paralympic Games, sit-skier Andrew Kurka went to the PyeongChang Paralympics last month with something to prove.

[junker-town]

U.S. Paralympics medal tracker

The 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea are underway, and the United States didn’t need much time to start racking up medals. On the first day of competition, Team USA won more gold medals than it secured at the entire 2014 Games in Sochi.

Team USA earned two gold medals four years ago, but on the opening Saturday in South Korea the United States stood atop the podium three times, including in both men’s and women’s biathlon.

The overall Team USA medal count

Gold: 8 Silver: 11 Bronze: 7 Total: 26

Click here for complete medal table.

Scroll down for an updating tally of the U.S. medalists:

Saturday, March 10

The first U.S. gold of these Paralympics was the first U.S. gold in the biathlon, with Kendall Gretsch winning the women’s 6km sitting biathlon, with teammate Oksana Masters capturing the bronze.

Two more medals for Team USA! Kendall Gretsch and Oksana Masters go one-two in the women's sitting 6km. #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/8zB0BORMVi

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) March 10, 2018

In the men’s 7.5km sitting biathlon another American came out on top, with Daniel Cnossen winning gold. Cnossen is a former Navy Seal who lost both legs in an explosion in Afghanistan.

Team USA also won gold with Andrew Kurka winning the men’s sitting downhill skiing.

GOLD FOR KURKA!!!! @Andrew_Kurka pic.twitter.com/KnCte8FF7k

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 10, 2018

Laurie Stephens captured the bronze win women’s sitting downhill skiing.

Sunday, March 11

Day 2 at the Paralympics was a day of doubling up for a quartet of United States athletes.

Kendall Gretsch struck gold for the second straight day, winning the women’s 12km sitting biathlon one day after winning gold in the 6km.

It's a beautiful day to win GOLD in PyeongChang! ☀️ Congratulations, Kendall! pic.twitter.com/E87iOBjB1U

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 11, 2018

Also like Saturday, fellow American Oksana Masters took the bronze.

Daniel Cnossen was a double medalist as well. One day after winning gold in the men’s 7.5km sitting biathlon, the former Navy Seal took the silver in the 15k sitting biathlon on Sunday.

And it's medal #2 and it's #SILVER for Dan Cnossen! #WinterParalympics pic.twitter.com/5c0OXgOvCk

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 11, 2018

One day after winning the men’s sitting downhill, Andrew Kurka captured silver in the sitting super-G.

Monday, March 12

The US increased its medal total to 15 at the 2018 Paralympics after winning six in snowboard snowcross on Day 3 at the Olympics. Brenna Huckaby and Mike Schultz took gold; Amy Purdy and Keith Gabel captured silver; and the bronze medal winners were Mike Minor and Noah Elliott.

The moment you cross the finish line and realize you’re taking home a GOLD MEDAL... @bren_hucks @Kusumotophoto pic.twitter.com/qj7pJMDFcF

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 12, 2018

#TeamUSA's newest stars rose to the occasion in PyeongChang as the U.S. captured SIX medals on the first day of #snowboard competition! ➡️ https://t.co/QftuwL3phw pic.twitter.com/8poA0IbPil

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 12, 2018

Tuesday, March 13

#ICYMI I DAY 4#SILVER Dan Cnossen#BRONZE @ASouleUSA pic.twitter.com/BGFSuvTmyq

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 13, 2018

Wednesday March 14

#ICYMI I DAY 5#GOLD @OksanaMasters #GOLD @ASouleUSA#SILVER @tbone_walker #BRONZE Dan Cnossen pic.twitter.com/XgEYFPiZkh

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 14, 2018

Friday, March 16

Oksana Masters and Daniel Cnossen each picked up their third medals of these Paralympic Games, taking silver in the women’s 12.5km sitting biathlon and men’s 15k sitting biathlon, respectively.

In snowboarding Team USA picked up even more medals. Brenna Huckaby took the silver and Amy Purdy the bronze in the women’s banked slalom SB-LL1...

Congratulations ladies!!! @bren_hucks @AmyPurdyGurl pic.twitter.com/knflCmRaYk

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 16, 2018

... and Brittani Coury captured the silver in women’s banked slalom SB-LL2:

#TeamUSA's Brittani Coury just snagged herself the SILVER medal in banked slalom SB - LL2! pic.twitter.com/zwlJk1dCBK

— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) March 16, 2018

[winterolympicssports2018-blog]

Andrew Kurka shifts focus after breaking back

Click here for More Olympics Updates https://www.winterolympian.com/andrew-kurka-shifts-focus-after-breaking-back/

Andrew Kurka shifts focus after breaking back

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With the Paralympic Games about to get underway, we asked a number of athletes how they found the sport they love. USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Kurka is expected to ski five events at the Pyeongchang Paralympics.(Photo: Jeffrey Swinger, USA TODAY Sports)

USA TODAY profiles top U.S. Paralympians to watch in Pyeongchang. 

When Alpine skier Andrew Kurka broke his back in Sochi four years ago before Paralympic competition began, the experience was devastating as you might imagine.

But it also brought him a sense of purpose that he may not have discovered had it not been for the horrific crash that occurred during his first downhill training run.

“It was a life-changing moment for me,” Kurka said last fall during the U.S. Olympic Committee’s media summit. “Prior to that my dream has always been to be the No. 1 in the world. After hurting my back in Sochi and breaking my femur eight months later, I was bedridden and I was sitting in the hospital and I didn’t know what was next in my career. And I decided to shift my focus a lot. It became more about helping other individuals and really showcasing Paralympics and my story to show people they can overcome these obstacles in their lives. If I can do it, so can you.”

Kurka, 26, from Palmer, Alaska, enters the Paralympics as one of the top Para Alpine skiers in the world. He won three medals at last year’s world championships: gold in downhill, silver in giant slalom and bronze in Super-G. He plans to ski four events in Pyeongchang, beginning with the downhill Saturday.

More: Five things to know about Paralympics in Pyeongchang

More: Oksana Masters’ attitude, strength make her medal favorite

Those who have supported Kurka on his journey have been impressed by his resolve.

“Obviously he’s learned patience through his injuries,” said Roy Tuscany, founder and executive director of the High Fives Foundation, based in Truckee, Calif. “I think it was really devastating for Andrew to have that happen to him in Sochi, but I believe it set him up for absolute success at 2018 South Korea.”

His dream to be an Olympian began when Kurka was an 8-year-old wrestling in Alaska. He broke his back the first time at 13, when he flipped the four-wheeler he was riding. He was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries.

A physical therapist introduced him to Paralympic skiing.

In the years prior to making the national team at 19, Kurka remembers asking individuals for donations outside a local coffee shop to offset the costs associated with skiing. After moving to Aspen, he worked two jobs during the summer and continued to network to raise the funding necessary to train, travel and compete.

Kurka, who now works in radio when he’s home in Alaska, maintains that’s been the hardest part of reaching his dream.

The determination is also a reason why others have come out to support him

“What I’ve always loved about Andrew is the kid has drive,” Tuscany said. “He’s always trying to go that much more. He’s also just really great at communicating. He updates his sponsors to let them know what he’s doing, if there’s a great accomplishment or if there’s not even some monumental accomplishment. He is a very driven human being that sets very high expectations for himself.”

High Fives supports dozens of athletes who have suffered life-threatening injuries. Tuscany says the foundation has provided funding annually for Kurka’s training and equipment — a monoski alone can cost $6,000 — since 2012.

The Barracuda Foundation started supporting athletes last year and chose Kurka because he shares its mission to use sports to inspire others to overcome obstacles, says foundation director Griffin Davis.

Kurka wrote to the Barracuda Foundation that he views his accident “as more of a blessing than a curse,” Davis said. Kurka wrote he had been given a chance to change lives and motivate others.

“That just really impressed us,” Davis said, noting that Kurka serves as a mentor to students in the Classroom Champions program. “The more we got to know him the more we found that he really does kind of live this.”

For his part, Kurka acknowledges that he wouldn’t be in Pyeongchang without the support of many.

“Throughout my career I’ve had many injuries,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the sponsorships and people who were willing to help out, I wouldn’t have made it to where I am. That is for certain.”

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