2022 Paralympic Ballot Bios
Meet the 2022 Hall of Fame Finalists#
Paralympians
Nominee Name
Steve Cash - Sled Hockey
Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Winter Games Torino 2006, bronze
- Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, gold
- Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, gold
- Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, gold
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
Cash spent 16 seasons anchoring the U.S. sled hockey team as the goaltender. His career spanned four Paralympic Winter Games and eight World Para Ice Hockey Championships. During his career, he won four Paralympic medals including three golds and five world titles. He won 119 of 169 games he appeared in, with a career 1.22 goals against average and .898 save percentage. At the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Cash became the first-ever goalie to have five shutouts during a single Paralympic Games. He later was named the Best Male Athlete with a Disability at the 2010 ESPY Awards. Cash was named the Closing Ceremony flag bearer for the U.S. at the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. Cash won 33 out of 40 games played at the world championship level, recording 15 shutouts and helping the United States become the first country to win back-to-back world titles.
Nominee Name
Muffy Davis - Alpine Skiing and Para-cycling
Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Games London 2012, gold (individual time trial, individual road race, team relay)
- Paralympic Winter Games Salt Lake 2002, silver (giant slalom, super-G, downhill)
- Paralympic Winter Games Nagano 1998, bronze (slalom)
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
A seven-time Paralympic medalist, Davis has been a part of the Paralympic Movement for 20 years as an athlete, ambassador, volunteer, and active member of several committees. Not only has Davis excelled on the field of play, she continues to be a driving force in the Paralympic Movement and disability advocacy since her retirement. Davis is a two-term IPC Governing Board member and currently serves on the USOPC Governing Board and USOPC Paralympic Advisory Council. She’s also held positions within the UCI Para-cycling Commission and IPC Women in Sport Committee. She served as the IPC athlete ambassador at the Sochi Winter Games and Team USA athlete service coordinator at the Torino Winter Games. In her local state of Idaho, Davis has become a leader as a Blaine County Commissioner and served as an Idaho State Representative. In addition, Davis was inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame and won the IPC President’s Disabled Athlete Award in 2004. In 2002, she became the first female paraplegic mountaineer to summit a peak over 14,000 feet when she successfully climbed California’s Mt. Shasta. Since then, she has successfully climbed Colorado’s Pikes Peak twice.
Nominee Name
Susan Hagel - Archery, Track and Field, Wheelchair Basketball
Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Games Toronto 1976, gold (archery)
- Paralympic Games Arnhem 1980, bronze (wheelchair basketball), exhibition silver (archery)*
- Paralympic Games Stoke Mandeville 1984, gold (archery), exhibition silver (wheelchair basketball)
- Paralympic Games Seoul 1988, gold (wheelchair basketball)
- Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992
- Paralympic Games Atlanta 1996, gold (wheelchair basketball)
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
A six-time Paralympian and five-time Paralympic medalist, Susan Hagel remains one of the longest-tenured women in the sport of wheelchair basketball. She competed as a member of 14 national teams during her career across three sports, picking up double Paralympic gold in both archery and wheelchair basketball. In 1998, she was awarded the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Triad Award and selected to the All-Tournament Team 16 times. Since retirement, Hagel has remained dedicated to the development of adaptive sport opportunities and works closely with the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.
Nominee Name
Trischa Zorn-Hudson - Swimming
Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Games Arnhem 1980, gold (100m backstroke, 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 200m IM, 400m IM, 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley relay)
- Paralympic Games Stoke Mandeville 1984, gold (50m freestyle, 200m backstroke, 400m IM, 200m IM, 100m butterfly, 100m backstroke, 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 4x100m medley relay, 4x100m freestyle relay)
- Paralympic Games Seoul 1988, gold (100m backstroke; 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle; 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke; 200m and 400m IM; 100m butterfly; 4x100m medley relay, 4x100m freestyle relay)
- Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992 - gold (100m and 200m backstroke; 50m, 100m and 4x100m freestyle; 100m and 200m breaststroke; 200m, 400m and 4x100m medley), silver (100m butterfly, 400m freestyle)
- Paralympic Games Atlanta 1996, gold (100m backstroke, 200m medley), silver (50m and 400m freestyle, 4x100m medley), bronze (100m breaststroke, 100m and 4x100m freestyle)
- Paralympic Games Sydney 2000, silver (200m medley, 100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke, 100m backstroke), bronze (50m freestyle)
- Paralympic Games Athens 2004, bronze (100m backstroke)
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
The most decorated Paralympic athlete of all time, Trischa Zorn-Hudson’s incredible career spanned seven Paralympic Games over more than two decades. She is credited with winning 55 Paralympic medals. At the Paralympic Games Seoul 1988, Zorn-Hudson pulled off an amazing feat, winning 10 out of 10 individual events while setting a world record in nine of them. Over a 12-year span from 1980 to 1992, Zorn-Hudson was unbeaten in every Paralympic race in which she competed, taking gold in 25 races. USA Swimming established the annual Trischa L. Zorn Award in 2000 to honor a swimmer with a disability who has achieved international and national excellence. In 2012, she was inducted into the International Paralympic Committee’s Hall of Fame. Zorn-Hudson served on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes from 2005 to 2016. She currently works as an attorney for the Department of Veterans Affairs in the fiduciary unit.
Nominee Name
David Kiley - Alpine Skiing, Track and Field, Wheelchair Basketball
Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Games Toronto 1976, gold (wheelchair basketball, 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, exhibition relay*)
- Paralympic Games Arnhem 1980, gold (wheelchair basketball)
- Paralympic Games Seoul 1988, gold (wheelchair basketball)
- Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992, gold (wheelchair basketball)
- Paralympic Winter Games Albertville 1992, gold (super-G, giant slalom), silver (slalom, downhill)
- Paralympic Games Sydney 2000, bronze (wheelchair basketball)
- Paralympic Games Athens 2004, assistant coach (men's)
- Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, women's national team coach
- Paralympic Games London 2012, head coach
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
David Kiley is a six-time Paralympian and Paralympic gold medalist across three sports. Kiley went on to coach in three additional Paralympic Games as a part of the wheelchair basketball team. During his career, Kiley became the only player to play wheelchair basketball in four different decades. In 1980, Kiley joined the Casa Colina Condors who went on to win nine national titles and compiled a 99-game winning streak. Kiley was named the NWBT MVP six times (the most in history) and selected to the NWBT All-Tournament Team 17 times. Kiley has been recognized for his athletic abilities by being honored as a “Sports Legend” by the Buoniconti Foundation, receiving the Magic Johnson/Jerry Buss “Humanitarian Award” and having been awarded wheelchair sport’s highest award – the “Jack Gerhardt Award.” David has served as NWBA Commissioner and President. Kiley serves as the chair of the NWBA Hall of Fame Committee and works diligently to create opportunities for junior girls and women in the sport. He created the DK3 – a 3-on-3 competition that has developed future wheelchair basketball players.
Nominee Name
Marla Runyan - Track and Field
Olympic & Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992, gold (100m, 200m, 400m, long jump)
- Paralympic Games Atlanta 1996, gold (pentathlon), silver (shotput)
- Olympic Games Sydney 2000, eighth (1,500m)
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
A two-time Paralympian and one-time Olympian, Marla Runyan is a six-time Paralympic medalist including five golds. In 2000, Runyan became the first visually impaired athlete to compete at an Olympic Games, taking eighth in the 1,500m. She remains the only U.S. athlete to ever compete at both an Olympic and Paralympic Games and one of 15 athletes worldwide to do so. Showcasing a diverse skillset, she medaled in an array of events including sprints, jumps, pentathlon, and field events. Runyan finished as the top American, with the second-fastest debut time by a female athlete, at the 2002 New York Marathon. She is a three-time Outdoor Track and Field National Champion and three-time Road 5K National Champion. In 2001, she co-wrote and published an autobiography titled, No Finish Line: My Life As I See It. In addition to her athletic accomplishments and barrier-breaking career, she also continues to give back to people with visual impairments by serving as a teacher and ambassador for the Perkins School for the Blind.
Nominee Name
Marlon Shirley - Track and Field
Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Games Sydney 2000 – gold (100m), silver (high jump)
- Paralympic Games Athens 2004 – gold (100m), silver (200m), bronze (long jump)
- Paralympic Games Beijing 2008
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
Marlon Shirley is a three-time Paralympian and five-time Paralympic medalist. In 2003, Shirley earned the designation as the first amputee to break the 11-second barrier in the 100-meter sprint. During his career, he became a double gold medalist in the 100-meter sprint and broke three world records. Shirley is a member of the USA Track & Field Accommodations Committee and was named the United Nations Role Model of the 21st Century. He is also a recipient of the San Diego Hall of Fame Best Disabled Athlete Award, a 2000 U.S. Paralympic Spirit Award Recipient, as well as a two-time ESPY Award winner (2003, 2005) in the Best Athlete with a Physical Disability category. Shirley was one of the first Paralympic athletes to gain marketing exposure for the Movement in the U.S., securing endorsement deals with companies such as McDonald’s, Visa, Reebok, and Home Depot. Shirley was abandoned by his mother at age 3 but found a way to survive by living with other kids on the streets of Las Vegas and moving between orphanages before getting adopted at nine years old. After retirement, Shirley created Marlon Shirley’s Champions in Life, a mentoring program for other homeless and foster children.
Nominee Name
Andy Soule - Para Nordic skiing
Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, bronze (biathlon pursuit)
- Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014
- Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, gold (cross-country sprint), bronze (biathlon middle distance)
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
A three-time Paralympian and three-time Paralympic medalist, Andy Soule was instrumental in the development of bringing the United States to the pinnacle of success in Para Nordic Skiing. Inspired to give back to his country following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Soule enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was soon deployed to Afghanistan, where he was wounded in an explosion that resulted in a double leg amputation. In his Paralympic debut in Vancouver just five years later, Soule became the first U.S. biathlete to win a Paralympic medal. At the Sochi Games, Soule shot 50 for 50 in biathlon competition and earned a career seven world championship medals. His cross-country gold medal win in the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 was one of the greatest comebacks in Winter Paralympic history. Soule consistently pushed the boundaries of what was possible in a sit-ski. Quiet and unassuming, Soule showed the entire program of athletes and staff how to represent with pride, dignity, and success.
Nominee Name
Cortney (Jordan) Truitt - Swimming
Paralympic Games experience
- Paralympic Games Beijing 2008, gold (S7 50 free), silver (S7 100 free, S7 400 free), bronze (SM7 200 IM)
- Paralympic Games London 2012, silver (S7 50 free, S7 100 free, S7 400 free), bronze (S7 100 back)
- Paralympic Games Rio 2016, silver (S7 100 free, S7 400 free, S7 50 butterfly), bronze (SM7 200 IM)
Comments to support the individual’s nomination
A three-time Paralympian and 12-time Paralympic medalist, Cortney Jordan Truitt was a mainstay of U.S. Paralympics Swimming over three Paralympic cycles and is widely recognized both in the U.S. and internationally as one of the greatest Paralympians of her generation. In addition, Truitt won 26 world championship medals across five world championship events. She was a U.S. national team member from 2006-2016. In 2013, Truitt became the first Paralympic athlete to be nominated for the National Collegiate Athletic Association Woman of the Year award. She is a college graduate and worked as a teacher and ambassador for disabled sports and the disabled community, highly respected by her peers both on and off the field of play. For nearly a decade, Truitt remained a positive presence in the U.S. Paralympics Swimming community acting as a team captain on multiple occasions.