Katja Saarinen

Katja started skiing with her family when she was 5 years old. After only two winters of skiing, Katja was diagnosed with bone cancer. To prevent it from spreading any further, her right leg was amputated above the knee right leg was amputated above the knee. After recovering from her illness and surgeries Katja went back to the slopes and learned how to ski on one leg as a “three tracker.”

Skiing was only a fun hobby for Katja until in 1998 she saw a program from The Nagano Paralympic Winter Games. This was an eye-opening experience for her and she was determined to become a Paralympian in Alpine Skiing one day. Right after her final exams in high school Katja travelled to the Finnish National Championships to meet people and to find out how she could start training. A short time later, Katja was named to the Finnish Disabled Ski Team.

In 2002 she reached her goal of becoming a Paralympian! She has competed in the Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2002 and in Torino in 2006. One of her biggest achievements in skiing was winning the bronze medal in slalom in the 2004 World Championships. It was that success that led her to Colorado to train and race with the National Sport Center for the Disabled (NSCD). Katja says, “I took a big step forward in my skiing and motivation before Torino while I was training with the NSCD program in Winter Park, Colorado.” Katja thinks the best thing in life is experiencing something new and challenging yourself to break your own boundaries.