Keith Gabel

Quick Facts

• Speciality: Snowboard Cross
• Parents, J. Keith Gabel and Theresa Martin
• Married to Heather Short, they have one son 

• A member of four school bands (symphonic, marching, jazz and bagpipe corps) as a high school student

• 2-time X Games gold medalist 

• Gabel is a mental health advocate after seeing his mom struggle with drug addiction, which resulted in financial hardships for the family, including living in homeless shelters

Biographical Information 

Keith Gabel decided to move to Utah to live with his dad, where he discovered snowboarding as a teenager as a way to “find clarity” while dealing with many traumatic childhood memories from his time growing up in Oregon. In high school, Gabel became heavily involved with sports and music.  His passion was Snowboarding, but he was also a member of the football, wrestling, and tennis teams, as well as the school's four bands (symphonic, marching, jazz, and bagpipe corps).

At 21, Gabel was working as a welder when he crushed his left foot in an industrial accident that led him to amputate his left leg. Gabel has said about losing his leg, “(It) was one of the worst things that ever happened to me, but it was also was one of the best.”  

A few years after the accident, Gabel found competitive Para snowboarding and became one of the first snowboarders to compete in the newly formed World Cup circuit. Gabel advocated for the sport's inclusion in the Paralympic Winter Games and made his first Paralympic appearance at the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, when snowboard cross made its Paralympic debut. He won the bronze medal as part of a historic sweep by Team USA in men’s snowboard cross.  The following year, Gabel would win the adaptive snowboard cross title at the Winter X Games, the first time the sport had not been an exhibition at the event. 

At the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, Gabel won silver in men’s snowboard cross, and the following year became world champion in the event. Four years later, at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, his third Winter Paralympics, Gabel was elected the Closing Ceremony flag bearer for Team USA. 

Outside of snowboarding, Gabel is a fierce advocate for mental health and very active in his community. Gabel serves on the board of the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club (AVSC), the oldest and largest youth non-profit in the Roaring Fork Valley (Colorado). Gabel first moved to Colorado to train with AVSC and now volunteers his time as a coach, hoping to inspire the next generation of winter sport athletes.

Paralympic Experience

• 3-time Paralympian; 2-time Paralympic medalist (1 silver, 1 bronze)
  • Paralympic Games Beijing 2022, 7th (Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men, Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men)
  • Paralympic Games Pyeongchang 2018, silver (Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men), 6th (Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men)
  • Paralympic Games Sochi 2014, bronze (Snowboardcross - Standing - Men)

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2023 – silver (Snowboard Cross Team Event - Men), 4th (Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men), 5th (Dual Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men)
• Years of participation: Dual Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men 2023; Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023; Snowboard Cross Team Event - Men 2019, 2022, 2023; Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men 2015, 2017, 2019; Snowboardcross - Standing - Men 2012
• Medals: 2 (1 gold, 1 silver)
  • Gold – 2019 (Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired - Men)
  • Silver – 2023 (Snowboard Cross Team Event - Men)