Sandy Dukat

Date of Birth: May 3, 1972 Amputation Level: Above the Knee Main Events: Alpine Skiing and Triathlon Competitive Class: Össur Products: Ceterus®, Flex-Run®, Re-Flex VSP®, Mauch® Knee (opens in a new window)* Nationality: USA

Sandy was born with a limb deficiency that resulted in her right leg being amputated when she was four. At about age nine, she saw a film chronicling fellow above-the-knee amputee, Terry Fox's run across Canada to raise money for cancer research: His epic journey brought in millions of dollars. "It was my first realization that people like me could do big things," she says. Also, "There were great athletes in my family and I wanted to have the same kind of lifestyle as they did."

Sandy's first accomplishments were in the pool, and she broke American records and won medals for freestyle swimming. Then she took to the snow, winning two bronze medals in skiing at the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City, and another bronze at the 2006 Paralympics in Torino, Italy. Sandy concluded her ski racing career by winning a silver and a bronze medal in the slalom at the 2007 North American World Cup.

She has several 10k's, a half-marathon, and triathlons on her score card, and also cycles, hikes, rock climbs, and kayaks. In 2007, she spent months training in the Colorado mountains, then six grueling days scaling the notoriously challenging Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with four other women; all of them with different physical disabilities.

"A lot of it is; you make up your mind and you just do it. That's how I've always operated," she says. "I'm just like anybody else: You get in there, you try it, you train until you reach the necessary levels or the goals." Her advice to those athletes with disabilities just starting out is, "Focus on your ability."

No wonder then that a new generation of athletes looks to Sandy as a role model. "When I got involved with disabled sports in Chicago," she says, "there was a young girl about 10 or 11, who reminded me very much of myself. I told her, "I'm not sure what you're going to do, but I'm sure you are going to be on top of it." That young girl went to the 2008 Beijing Paralympics as a member of the cycling team. "

It's not just people with disabilities that Sandy aspires to influence. "I know that people are looking at me, they are very curious," she acknowledges. "I've had to accept that what I do is so different from what people believe is supposed to happen when you're an amputee." She doesn't regard what she does as unique. "It's just part of my whole life experience," she says. "If I can provide inspiration, as well as an awareness - a change in perception about people with disabilities… maybe they'll think differently." And that's a role she's game to play.

She's able to assume this role aided by her Össur products. Sandy insists that combining the Ceterus^® with the Total Knee^® has produced the best system she has ever tried. She now has expanded her use of Össur products by using her Flex-Foot^® Flex-Run^™ for long distance running.

Competitive Highlights: