‘Best day of my life until tomorrow': Patrick Halgren breaks through for surprise Paralympic silver in memory of twin brother

U.S. Paralympian Patrick Halgren entered the men’s standing super-G race in Cortina as a longshot for a medal. After all, he’d never finished on the podium in any World Cup race, and at the 2022 Beijing Paralympics, he finished 24th in slalom and 26th in giant slalom. 

But under the sunny Italian skies, Halgren found his rhythm and sailed to a factored time of 1 minute, 13.10 seconds — just 0.98 seconds behind the eventual gold medalist, Switzerland’s Robin Cuche. 

“I’ve been blessed to have to develop my character over the last 11 years, losing my leg and could either roll over and die, or I could become the greatest Patrick Halgren on Earth, and that’s what you’re seeing,” he said.

Halgren will be taking a silver medal back to his home in Colorado, but the 33-year-old is leaving something close to his heart in Italy — stickers honoring his late twin brother, Sven.

SEE MORE: Patrick Halgren secures silver in super-G Paralympic run

Take a closer look at the back of chair No. 69 on the ski lift and, according to Halgren, you’ll find one of those stickers with the slogan that motivates him: “SvendIt.”

“[Sven] is the reason I’m here,” Halgren said. “I’m just a vessel to cram love and combat hate down your throats. He inspired me to live life, but life is fragile.”

Sven was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in New Zealand in 2016. That was just three years after a similar accident cost Patrick his left leg and nearly his life. He was in a coma for a month, where his heart stopped four times and he even required a blood transfusion.

As his recovery progressed, it was Sven who first encouraged him to give para Alpine skiing a try.

“It’s all for him,” Halgren said of his silver performance. “It’s for my family. It’s for the people that have struggled. He’s dead. I’m here living, talking to you guys. I’m going to have who knows how many women and champagne after this. He liked that too, but he doesn’t get that, and I do.”

From the lift to the Paralympic Village and other places Halgren has traveled around the world, you can spot the eye-catching blue and yellow homage to Sven as a permanent reminder of his memory.

Even fellow Paralympic medalist Andrew Kurka rocked a “SvendIt” sticker on the back of his wheelchair as he accepted bronze on Monday following the men’s sitting super-G. 

Kurka’s display of support is just one of the many ways the athletic community continues to unite and make an impact on each individual competitor. 

“Sport in general, especially Paralympic sport, it changed my life, and I think it changes so many lives,” Kurka said.

The three-time U.S. Paralympian has announced his intention to retire following the Milan Cortina Games so, after skiing out of the men’s sitting downhill race on Saturday, the super-G was one of his final shots at claiming another piece of hardware.

The difference between this event and his last Paralympic campaign in Beijing: Kurka is healthy this time around. In 2022, he finished just off of the podium in the downhill despite nursing a broken shoulder. 

“I was just happy to get across that finish line without any injuries and in a relatively quick time,” Kurka said.

SEE MORE: Andrew Kurka takes bronze in super-G Paralympic run

Today in the super-G, his result of 1:13.95 was quick enough to earn him 3rd place, 0.87 seconds behind gold medalist Jeroen Kampschreur (NED) and just shy of Jesper Pedersen (NOR) for silver. With that, Kurka now boasts a full set of Paralympic medals — one of each color. 

“I’m happy to have a great career,” Kurka said. “Gold, silver, and bronze, happy to be done.”

As for Halgren, outlook is everything. He will ultimately depart Cortina with at least one medal, freshly-dyed red and blue hair, and his signature positive attitude. 

“Best day of my life until tomorrow,” Halgren said. “I’ll repeat that until the day I die on the best day of my life.”

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