ONE-TRACK
MIND
Three-track athlete Pat Parnell of Colby-Sawyer
has eyes set on Sochi 2014 BY C.J. FEEHAN
The 2012
Colby-Sawyer
College Ski
Team (Parnell
in back row,
fifth from left)
The most accomplished member of the Colby-Sawyer College Alpine Ski Team
will compete in his first World Cup race this spring, but he has never set foot in the
starting gate of an NCAA competition. That’s because Patrick Parnell, a freshman on
the Chargers roster, is the U.S. adaptive slalom national champion and a member
of the U.S. Paralympic Team. As a three-track athlete, Parnell carves all his turns on
one ski with the support of an outrigger in each arm.
Parnell has a number of explanations he conjures up when people ask why he has
only one leg, from shark attacks in the ocean to being run over by a tank. The truth
of the matter is that he was born with a condition called proximal femoral focal defi-
ciency (or PFFD) that prevented the full development of his left femur, and he uses
a prosthetic for walking. But because he does not have an anatomically supportive
hip socket, it makes more sense in ski racing to forgo the use of a prosthetic device
and to ski on just one leg. Although he has considered newer prosthetic technolo-
gies, Parnell says, “I think I’ve got a pretty good thing going with the one ski.”
At the age of 12, Parnell signed up for an adaptive race camp and was hooked on
the competition by the afternoon of the first day. He has since competed in both dis-
abled and able-bodied events including slalom, giant slalom and speed races. He
has run downhill twice at U.S. Nationals and competed in super combined events
as well.
Before selecting Colby-Sawyer for college, Parnell met with head alpine coach
Garrett Lashar to discuss his athletic options there. “During Pat’s first college visit
last year, he told me his goal was to make the 2014 Sochi Paralympics,” recalls
Lashar. “After speaking with a former coach of his and watching him ski, I knew
his goal was obtainable. We offered him a full-time preseason plan, mid-week on-
