Josh

Pauls

Quick Facts

• Son of Tony and Deborah Pauls
• Has one sister, Tori
• Only sled hockey player to be a four-time Paralympic gold medalist
• At age 17, he was the youngest member of the gold medal-winning squad at the Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010
• Nicknamed “Spuds” partly because he faces a Mr. Potatohead figure towards the opponent’s locker room before every game
• Motivational speaker and author of “Lessons Learned: My Journey to the Podium”
• Hobbies include cooking, playing video games, watching hockey and football
• Hopes to be a professional hockey coach when his sled hockey career is finished

Biographical Information

Josh Pauls was born without a tibia in both legs and had them both amputated at 10 months old. As a kid, he dreamed of being an NHL goalie, and at age eight, his mom brought an advertisement for sled hockey. Within eight years of first trying out sled hockey, he was called up to his first world championship team.

Pauls made his Paralympic debut at the Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, where he was the youngest player on the team at 17. He would later serve as captain for the U.S. sled hockey team at the 2018 and 2022 Paralympic Games. At the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, Pauls would become the all-time U.S. leader in career Paralympic appearances and become the first sled hockey player to win four Paralympic gold medals. 

He is known on the team as “Spuds” because he faces a Mr. Potatohead figure towards the opponent’s locker room before every game. The nickname was originally bestowed on him when an assistant coach said his bald head was "smooth, like a potato."

Paralympic Experience

• 4-time Paralympian; 4-time Paralympic medalist (4 gold)
  • Paralympic Games Beijing 2022, gold (Team - Mixed)
  • Paralympic Games Pyeongchang 2018, gold (Team - Mixed)
  • Paralympic Games Sochi 2014, gold (Team - Mixed)
  • Paralympic Games Vancouver 2010, gold (Team - Mixed)

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2024 – silver (Team - Men)
• Years of participation: Team - Men 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
• Medals: 9 (6 gold, 3 silver)
  • Gold – 2023 (Team - Men); 2021 (Team - Men); 2019 (Team - Men); 2015 (Team - Men); 2012 (Team - Men); 2009 (Team - Men)
  • Silver – 2024 (Team - Men); 2017 (Team - Men); 2013 (Team - Men)