In The Zone Multisport

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Sandy Dukat U.S. Disabled Ski Team

 By Trista Francis, ATC

At the Vail Summit Orthopaedics Sports Medicine Symposium, I had the opportunity to meet with Sandy Dukat. She is an above knee amputee that hasn’t missed a step in her life. Dukat was born without a right femur and her right foot was amputated at 4. Still, she played basketball, baseball and high-jumped in high school, and was a member of the U.S. Disabled Swimming Team. After the ‘98 World Swimming Championships, she learned about disabled skiing and moved to Winter Park, Colo., for its outstanding program. A sociology major at Wittenberg, Dukat moved to Chicago in the mid-Nineties for a job in family services...Dukat also enjoys running, hiking, biking...She gave one of her 2002 Paralympics medals to her parents, kept the other for herself, showing it to groups as she makes appearances on behalf of The Hartford and speaks to schools across the country. Soundbite: "Skiing is not a tradition in our family, so my parents didn’t know what to think when they saw me coming down the hill at 60 mph"... She has won many Bronze medals with the most recent being at the 2006 Torino Paralympics in the Slalom.

Sandy believes that “anything is achievable”. She would head out to the lake while living in Chicago, for early morning swims before the lifeguards got out. A friend advised her to attend a support group in the area. After her first meeting at the Amputee Support Group, she was introduced to the opportunity to compete against others with disabilities. In 1996, Sandy had decided to try skiing and went to the top of Alpine Valley Wisconsin and thought she was on the highest mountain in the world! “This was the first time I felt like I was living” Sandy said. In 2002, when she was able to represent her country for the first time at the Paralympic Games and there was an American Sweep for Gold, Silver and Bronze she stated, “This is for all those people that doubted me and told me I couldn’t do it. Look at what I did! But I didn’t do it alone, I did it with (Athletic) Trainers and coaches.”

Sandy is in limbo right now unsure of what she wants to do next. She is still skiing, running and still loves to swim. She completed a ½ marathon in under 2 hours and was in the top third of her age group. She says it’s all about “redefining ability: how far are you willing to push your limits”. She competes in 3-4 triathlons a year, St. Anthony’s being one of her favorites. I strongly encouraged her to continue to make a push to get Triathlon into the 2010 Paralympics and be there as one of the top competitors. She laughed and said, “If not, maybe I’ll do an Ironman and give you a call to be my coach!” She believes coaches have been the key to her success. “With the right encouragement, anything is possible.”

 

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