Education
Skyline High School (Longmont, Colo.) ‘00 University of Colorado at Boulder, Economics; City University of Seattle '17, Applied Computing
Classification: B2, Visually Impaired
Quick Facts
- Petty Officer First Class Burton was in his ninth year serving as an Arabic linguist with the United States Navy, including tours to Iraq and Kuwait, when in 2010 he was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. Before medically retiring in February of 2011, Burton went through treatment at the VA Medical Center’s Augusta Blind Rehabilitation Center in Georgia, where he learned how to complete everyday tasks without his eyesight. An avid cross-country skier before losing his sight, Burton wore skis again for the first time in March 2012 at the VA’s National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Burton competes with the aid of a guide who skis in front of him and gives him directions on the course. He competed at the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 in Nordic skiing. Following Sochi, he transitioned from Nordic skiing to alpine skiing
- Son of Doug and Rene Burton
- Has one sister, Brandi
- Has two children, Ewan and Imogen
- Fluent in Arabic
- Hobbies include biking, computers, shooting, hiking and camping.
Paralympic Experience
- Two-time Paralympian (2014, 2018)
- PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, 5th (super combined), 7th (downhill), 9th (super-G)
- Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, 9th (cross-country relay), 10th (cross-country long-distance), 12th (biathlon individual), 14th (cross-country sprint), 15th (cross-country middle-distance), 16th (Biathlon sprint)
World Championship Experience
- Most recent: 2017 – Alpine - 5th (super-G, super combined), 6th (downhill, slalom), 7th (giant slalom)
- Years of Participation: 2017
- Top Finish: 5th – 2017 (super-G, super combined)
