The Paralympics have started in Milan and one of the athletes expected to win gold visited Pittsburgh recently.
Declan Farmer already has three gold medals in sled hockey and he told Channel 11 Sports Director Jenna Harner he’s looking for more than just number four.
Declan Farmer put on a stick-handling show at DICKS’s House of Sports at Ross Park Mall.
He’s taken his sled hockey skills to Milan, ready to fight for his fourth Paralympic gold medal.
“It’s a huge honor to wear the USA across the chest. Been fortunate to do it for a while now, since I was pretty young and going to my fourth games, I think that appreciation grows as you mature,” Farmer said.
That’s not the only inspiration he’s taking with him onto the ice.
“It’s an incredible honor to go to a Paralympics where you’re playing for your country, but you’re also part of something bigger than that,” Farmer said. “With the Paralympics being, you know, a big global movement pushing inclusivity for people with disabilities. It’s really a lot and a huge honor, and I don’t think anyone on our team takes it lightly.”
Farmer made his first Paralympic team at just 16-years-old. He’s also the first US sled hockey player to score more than 200 career goals.
“You can’t control what happens on the ice in a game, because, you know, hockey is a game with a lot of luck and bounces, so all we can do is prepare to be like in the best spot to handle that kind of diversity,” Farmer said.
Sled hockey is still a relatively new sport - only added to the Paralympics schedule in 1994. The players have raised the bar ever since.
“The ones on the national team now, we’re the ones that are kind of developing, like the next skills and the new moves that’ll kind of, you know, raise the bar of the sport to make it, you know, higher skilled sport, and just kind of raise that level of, you know, both interest for people to watch and like the caliber player it takes to make a national team,” Farmer said.
A team that wants to compete, win and bring home gold, but also a team that knows its responsibility is much larger than the score at the end of a game.
“The reality is, what we do on the ice can make a difference in, you know, kids lives, they see it, who maybe aren’t playing any sports, you know, they’re growing up with a disability, and that’ll get them out and to do something, you know, with teammates, and be collaborative and active, and all those things are great, and that’s an important part of it, for sure,” Farmer said.
The US para-sled hockey team gets started right away, playing its first game Saturday against Italy.
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