Christina "Christy" Gardner is a retired Army veteran from Maine. She was injured overseas in 2006 and spent nearly 5 rehabbing before she was finally able to live on her own again and started participating in adaptive sports. She recently assisted Team USA to win their second consecutive gold medal at the 2023 Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Challenge with a 2-0 win over Canada in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Gardner was involved in soccer and track and field as a child. While in high school, Gardner was so passionate about sports that she received special permission from her athletic director to play two sports each season. She participated in soccer and field hockey in the fall, indoor track and basketball in the winter, and outdoor track and spring soccer in the spring. She continued her sports career into college as she competed for Long Island University on both their field hockey and track teams. After graduating college with a photography degree, Gardner joined the U.S. Army. While serving as an MP (military police) during an Asia peacekeeping mission, she would sustain an injury as a result of a Line of Duty incident in 2006, sustaining a brain injury, a spinal cord injury, and eventually the amputation of both legs. While she worked to rehabilitate her body, she also re-learned everything starting from a third-grade level and eventually choosing to go back to college.

A long road of recovery didn’t keep Gardner from pursuing sports. Once she was cleared for exercise, she attended various clinics hosted by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs focused on skiing, snowboarding, basketball, field hockey and other adaptive sports. Sled hockey piqued her interest and she has now been an active member of the U.S. Women’s National Sled Hockey team for several years, serving as an assistant captain for the team as well. But continues to excel as a multi-sport athlete as Gardner has also been a part of the U.S Parasurfing Team and has competed in shotput and discus.

Besides sports, Gardner is passionate about service animals. In addition to her dog, Moxie, she has helped with fostering and training other dogs as well. She has released a book, co-authored by Eileen Doyon, which educates kids on diversity and how obstacles can be overcome by someone with a disability. The book, Lucky: Little Guy, BIG Mission, centers around a dog named Lucky, who was taken in by Gardner. Lucky was born missing some bones in his wrist and the book tells of how he trained and eventually became a therapy dog. He is now working at a school in Maine. Proceeds from the book go towards helping Gardner train more puppies as therapy and service dogs.

Gardner joined the board of directors of Central Maine Adaptive Sport, a Move United member organization. There she has played a role in starting new programs for youth in sled hockey, track and field, kayaking, and cycling. And she continues to serve as a Move United Warfighters Ambassador. To follow Gardner, you can find her on Twitter and Instagram @CLgardner19.

Sarah Evans was serving in Afghanistan in 2012 when she was diagnosed with bone cancer, eventually leading to the amputation of her left leg at the hip. It was during her recovery at Brooke Army Medical Center that Sarah was introduced to adaptive sports. She has since participated in several Move United Warfighters events, including completing the entire 26.2 mile Bataan Memorial Death March on crutches. She has competed in the Warrior Games and the Invictus Games and has summited Mt Kilimanjaro. A graduate of The Citadel, Sarah has also worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a Budget Analyst. Sarah is currently pursuing her master's degree in project management from Penn State University. She lives in Florida with her husband and two young sons.

I am a 22 year old Track & Field athlete from Nicholasville, KY who was born with Klippel Feil syndrome, which affects the development of bones in the spine. I don't remember how found out about wheelchair racing, but I immediately knew that's what I wanted to do. Living in an area without adaptive track programs, my coach/dad and I watched Youtube videos and figured it out as we went along. Not knowing where else to start, I registered for local 5ks and 10ks. Four years later, I discovered and fell in love with track. In my first season of track competition, I made the Junior Nationals and was named High School All American. I am still training and competing today. I have traveled all over the nation for competitions going everywhere from California to New Jersey to Georgia to Illinois.

Hi! I am a 16 year old adaptive athlete from Dallas, Texas. I compete in Track & Field, Swimming, WCMX, and ParaTri. . In my spare time, I enjoy rescuing animals and handcycling. I will graduate in 2023 and hope to attend Colorado State University for Veterinary Medicine.

I love adaptive sports. I participate in wheelchair tennis, sled hockey, wheelchair basketball, and track. I go to the driving range with my grandfather. Some sports, like track and basketball, I participate with people without disabilities. Others, like tennis, sled hockey and another basketball team, I participate with other people with disabilities. If there is a sport, I will find a way to try it. I am in 7th grade and I like school. I like music. Last year, I played trumpet in the 6th grade band. I participate in 5K races for charity. I like video games and You Tube. I like to travel. I have been to many states for sled hockey tournaments. I have been to Myrtle Beach with my parents and to Northern New York to the Thousand Islands with my grandparents. I would like to go to Canada and to California. I have been in a TV commercial for a car dealership. My most exciting day was in October 2019, when I was the Dicks Junior Starter for the Pittsburgh Penguins game vs the Anaheim Ducks. I skated in my sled onto the ice before the National Anthem and I lined up with the players on the ice during the Nation Anthem. Then I skated off. I received my own Pittsburgh jersey with my name on it. And Pittsburgh won the game! The Penguins gave us 40 tickets for friends and family, so I even had my own cheering section.