Andrew Kurka: How A CAF Grant Helped Launch His Paralympic Journey

The Power to Achieve: How One Opportunity Helped Launch Andrew Kurka’s Paralympic Journey

Mariah Wyckoff

October 9, 2026

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Before Andrew Kurka became a three-time Paralympian and three-time Paralympic medalist, he needed the same thing many athletes with physical disabilities need when discovering a new sport: access.

Growing up in Alaska, Andrew’s life revolved around sports. Wrestling was his passion, and he excelled in it, becoming a six-time Alaska state champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He had big goals and a clear vision for where he wanted sport to take him.

At age 13, an ATV accident resulted in a spinal cord injury, changing the path Andrew had imagined for himself. But his competitive drive remained.

Two years later, Andrew was introduced to Para alpine skiing through Challenge Alaska.

He quickly found a new way to challenge himself and compete, but pursuing the sport required specialized equipment.

For athletes with physical disabilities, that equipment can be one of the biggest barriers to participation. Sit-skis and other adaptive sports equipment can cost thousands of dollars, putting that opportunity to participate or compete out of reach for many athletes and families.

That is where the Challenged Athletes Foundation became part of Andrew’s story.

Help Keep Power in Motion

Andrew’s journey began with one opportunity. Your support can help make the next one possible for an athlete with a physical disability.

The Opportunity That Started it All

Early in his skiing journey, CAF provided Andrew with his first sit-ski through an adaptive sports grant.

It gave him access to the equipment he needed to pursue a sport he was beginning to love and the opportunity to see where it could take him.

Years later, Andrew still remembers that support.

“CAF believed in me at that one moment in life when I was first starting.”

When Andrew received his first sit-ski, the goal wasn’t to become a Paralympian. It was to make participation possible.

That first opportunity allowed Andrew to keep showing up, training, competing, and pushing himself to see what he could achieve.

And it was only the beginning.

The Power to Achieve

Andrew continued progressing through Para alpine skiing, eventually earning a place on the U.S. Paralympic National Team and reaching the sport’s biggest stage.

At the Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang 2018, Andrew won gold in downhill and silver in super-G. Eight years later, he returned to the Paralympic podium at Milano Cortina 2026, earning bronze in super-G and completing a set of gold, silver, and bronze Paralympic medals.

From his first sit-ski to three Paralympic Games and three Paralympic medals, Andrew’s journey has been built over years of training, competition, setbacks, progress, and opportunities to keep moving forward.

Success didn’t begin on a Paralympic podium. It began much earlier, when Andrew had access to the equipment he needed to pursue a new sport.

That is the Power to Achieve.

It’s what can happen when an athlete has the opportunity not only to begin, but to keep going.

Creating Power in Motion

Andrew’s journey shows how one opportunity can set something in motion.

A single grant did not create a Paralympian overnight. It helped remove a barrier at an important point in Andrew’s journey, giving him access to equipment that allowed him to pursue his goals in sport.

For more than 30 years, CAF has helped athletes with physical disabilities pursue active lifestyles through adaptive sports equipment, grants for training and competition expenses, mentorship, and programs that create opportunities to participate and compete.

Every athlete’s path is different.

Some are discovering a sport for the first time. Some are ready to take the next step in training or competition. Others are pursuing goals that may take them to national championships, international competitions, or places they have not yet imagined.

What they share is the need for opportunity.

This holiday season, Power in Motion celebrates what becomes possible when athletes have access to the equipment and support they need to keep moving forward.

Help Create Opportunity for the Next Athlete

Andrew’s Paralympic journey didn’t begin at the Paralympic Games. It began with access to the equipment he needed to pursue a sport he had discovered and loved.

Today, another athlete is ready for their opportunity.

Your support can help provide adaptive sports equipment, training and competition expenses, and other resources that help athletes with physical disabilities pursue their goals through sport.

Your gift can help put the next journey in motion.

Donate today and help keep Power in Motion for the next generation of athletes with physical disabilities.

Read about The Power to Begin with Paisley.
Read about the Power to Grow with Beauden.

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