Palmer athlete completes Paralympic medal collection with bronze in Milan

As the 2026 Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina drew to a close earlier this week, Palmer’s own Andrew Kurka brought his decorated career full circle by carrying the U.S. flag at the closing ceremony. Rising from a heartbreaking 2014 injury to secure a complete set of Paralympic medals, Kurka has endured over 20 broken bones, solidifying his status as one of Team USA’s most resilient and respected veterans.

Carrying the colors for the U.S. capped off an outstanding Paralympics for Kurka, earning Bronze Medal in the Men’s Sitting Super-G with a time of 1:13.95, the final piece of his Paralympic medal collection. He had already won gold (Downhill) and silver (Super-G) in the 2018 Paralympic Games.

“My downhill, unfortunately, I crashed and wasn’t able to pull off the victory I was looking for, but I did pretty well in the Super G,” he said during a phone interview last week.

Sitting Super-G is a thrilling Para alpine skiing event that demands a perfect blend of high speed and technical precision. Athletes with lower-limb impairments navigate steep, challenging courses in a sit-ski—a seat mounted on a single ski with a shock absorber. Combining the velocity of downhill with tighter, more technical turns, this event requires immense courage and skill.

“It’s an action sport. We’re racing motorcycles down a mountain on ice.” And it is an action sport that has seen Kurka spill, crash, and break many bones. “When you crash, you crash hard.”

At the 2022 Beijing Paralympics, he defied excruciating pain—competing with a broken nose, thumb, and humerus—to secure a fourth-place finish in the Downhill.

“I broke my arm. I raced with a broken arm. It was the most painful thing in my life that I’ve ever done, and that includes paralyzing my legs or breaking my back. It was just brutal. I pushed through it in the hopes that I could do something for myself.”

It is that drive and determination that keeps him coming back to the games. That, and wanting to write his own ending to his story. The approach reflects the way Kurka has rebuilt himself throughout his life. The 34-year-old grew up in Palmer and was a dominant wrestler, winning six state titles before a devastating ATV accident at age 13 damaged three vertebrae in his spinal cord. Two years later, his physical therapist encouraged him to try mono-skiing through Challenge Alaska. What began as rehabilitation quickly turned into a new pursuit.

By 2010, he had joined the U.S. Paralympic Alpine Ski Team and quickly rose to the top of the sport. At the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, he delivered a gold medal performance in the downhill and silver in super-G, becoming the first Paralympic medalist from Alaska.

Now that the Games are over, Kurka is pouring his energy into purchasing a plane and earning his instructor license, and his Hatcher Pass bed and breakfast, aiming to show others the breathtaking world of Alaskan nature. Driven by his own passion for the outdoors, he plans to guide disabled guests on fishing and hunting adventures. "So many people with disabilities are told what they can't do," Kurka says. "I want to show them what they can do. They can still get out in nature—they just have to do it differently."

As he weighs retirement, he admits he’s unsure if another Paralympics is in his future. Though confident he would qualify, he feels a shift in priorities. "I’m at an age where my wife and my business matter more than world-stage medals," he explains. "Every athlete eventually reaches that point. It’s this strange mix of peace and nerves when you realize your career is ending, and I just want to go out on a high note. And I did that. And I’m happy.”