Heidi Jo Duce

With two World Championships medals and multiple World Cup podiums, Heidi-Jo Duce is the next big thing to come out of the USA’s exceptional Para snowboard development programme.

Despite competing against the likes of Dutch Paralympic and double world champion Bibian Mentel-Spee, Duce has been consistent in her first seasons representing Team USA.

At the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, Duce managed a respectable fifth place finish and in 2014-15 finished second in the overall women’s SB-LL2 World Cup rankings behind Spee.

Her appearance in Sochi was inspired by the inclusion of Para snowboard onto the Paralympic programme. Having been born without bones in most of her right ankle and foot, Duce had her leg amputated below the knee at 18 months old.

At the age of 11, Duce tried snowboard, and then when she heard that the sport would make its debut at Sochi 2014 decided to dedicate everything she had towards it.

At the 2015 World Championships the 24-year-old stormed to silver in snowboard-cross and bronze in banked slalom, just pipped to silver by another one of her main competitors, Australian Joany Badenhorst.

In 2015-16, Duce ended third in the World Cup overall rankings. She is hoping to cement her progress next season, including at the 2017 World Para Snowboard World Championships in Big White, Canada.