Palmer Paralympian finishes 5th in ‘Alaska Challenge’

HATCHER PASS — As Colony High School graduate and Paralympian Andrew Kurka rolled across the finish line in the world’s “longest and toughest handcycle race” Monday morning, he knew he was onto something.

“I think I might make a career out of it,” Kurka told reporters after the race, in reference to handcycling.

Kurka finished second in his division, fourth for men, and fifth overall — behind retired, two-sport, Paralympic medalist Muffy Davis — in the eight-stage Alaska Challenge with a total elapsed time of 17 hours, 18 minutes and 9 seconds. He narrowly defeated 52-year-old Floridian Keith Winchell, his closest competitor during the week-long, 267-mile race.

“I wish I didn’t catch bronchitis like three days ago, but other than that I’m doing pretty fantastic,” Kurka said, at the finish.

For the final stage of the race, Kurka and nine other racers from eight states and two countries muscled their way to the top of Hatcher Pass from Palmer, about 18.8 miles, in steady rain and dense fog. Kenny Herriott of Scotland — who has been handcycling since 2008, and in 2005 was ranked fourth fastest wheelchair racer in the world — won the race overall by almost an hour. Next in line was David Neumer from Tennessee, followed by Davis of Salt Lake City and Ryan Kellington of Washington.

“I was crushing people on the uphills. Everybody except for the Scottish guy,” Kurka said.

Herriott was quite literally, out of Kurka’s league — he technically competed in a different division — but Kurka wasn’t looking to win.

“I knew that I had strength coming up the hills, but in the long run, you know, I’m not quite as big as (the other racers) are, I’m a little bit younger, I haven’t been doing it as long, my experience just didn’t keep up on those super long straight stretches,” he said. “But I gave it all I got on the first stage, the third stage and this last stage as well.”

And fifth place in a world-renowned race, in place since 1984, is nothing to sneeze at. At 23, Kurka was the youngest competitor by 13 years in the 2015 Alaska Challenge, which featured time trial and criterium race stages in Anchorage; a time trial in Denali National Park; four distance stages between 30 and 60 miles in length; and the final push to Independence Mine.

“This is like, a lot of times … a bucket list kind of thing for people,” said Beth Edmands-Merritt, CEO of lead race sponsor Challenge Alaska. “There’s no other race really like this for handcyclists.”

And now Kurka can add it to his long list of accomplishments. Since an ATV accident impaired the use of his legs when he was 13, Kurka has done nothing but achieve, inspire and compete. His success in wrestling at a young age made him determined to beat the odds (or simply negativity). Kurka is a Paralympic alpine skier, a motivational speaker, a radio disc jockey, an avid fisherman, and now a handcycle racer.

With such credentials, it’ll be no surprise if he ends up a two-sport Paralympian, like Davis, Edmands-Merritt said.

“I think that Andrew might get on (the handcycle team’s) radar now,” she said. “He’s already a Paralympian in alpine skiing so they’re gonna be looking at him and saying, ‘wow, he did really well in that, maybe we can have him come to some camps, maybe we can have him come to some races (Outside) and see how he does.”

Edmands-Merritt called Kurka, one of two Alaskan competitors this year, “a game changer.”

Kurka said he’s not planning to give up skiing for cycling — despite breaking his back during training at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 — but will compete in both sports.

“Skiing’s definitely gonna take No.1 priority, ’cause right now I mean, I’m up there (in the Paralympic standings), but this is definitely gonna be a close second,” he said, of cycling. “I feel like I can do this.”

Kurka said he’s hoping he can devote more time to cycling after he retires from skiing around age 30 — because it’s “more of an old man’s game” — but will definitely be back for the 2017 Challenge, a biannual event.

“In two years, when all the best in the world are here? Of course, that’ll be great,” Kurka said, of the next race.

(This year, fewer competitors were present due to conflicts with the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics qualifier occurring in Switzerland this week.)

Follow Kurka’s athletic endeavors on Facebook at facebook.com/USAdaptive, on Twitter @Andrew_Kurka, or via Wordpress at andrewkurka.wordpress.com.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.

Results

Alaska Challenge

July 21-27

Overall Results

1. Kenny Herriott, MH3, 13:58:54; 2. David Neumer, MH4, 14:57:59; 3. Muffy Davis, W, 17:04:53; 4. Ryan Kelling, MH3, 17:09:31; 5. Andrew Kurka, MH4, 17:18:09; 6. Keith Winchell, MH4, 17:23:17; 7. Wesley Bergin, MH3, 18:21:52; 8. Anthony Pedeferri, MH2, 18:34:16; 9. Mike O’Neill, MH4, 19:58:43; 10. Ashli Molinero, W, 24:35:21.