Tyler Turner’s “crazy life” riding smoothly into Milano Cortina 2026

TORONTO – When life gets crazy for Canadian Para snowboard champion Tyler Turner, he isn’t talking about jumping out of airplanes or negotiating the world’s toughest hills on a plank of wood with two prosthetic feet.

“I got married, bought a house, started doing keynote speaking and somehow I’m still trying to find time to train,” Turner said this past June at the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s media summit.

‘’Life’s just crazy right now. There’s pressure, there’s stress, but it’s all good problems to have.’’

Who knew us mere mortals had it so tough.

Since winning a Paralympic gold medal in the men’s SB-LL1 (lower limb) snowboard cross in Beijing in 2022, Canada’s first ever victory in the sport at the Games, Turner has been adjusting to a new reality.

So far – knock on a snowboard – it hasn’t affected his competitive performances.

Since Beijing, Turner has dominated his sport, winning three straight Crystal Globes and back-to-back world championship titles in snowboard cross.

With that resume, Turner will likely head into the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games as the favourite in his best event as well as a serious medal threat in the banked slalom. He won bronze in the banked slalom in Beijing.

His sport success and his appearance on The Amazing Race Canada in 2023, one of the country’s most popular TV shows, have driven up demands for his time, both planned and unplanned.

‘’It’s still wild to me that people in Canada know my name,’’ he said. ‘’I never thought I would be someone people recognized. Growing up watching the Games, those athletes were like superheroes.

‘’At my grandparents’ cabin we’d cheer for athletes who maybe weren’t household names – but during the Games you’re behind them 100 percent.

‘’To be that person now … it still doesn’t feel normal.’’

But long before his TV appearances, Turner’s journey into the Paralympic sphere all started in 2017. He was seriously injured when a parachute jump from 10,000 feet went wrong. He crash-landed and his injuries eventually led to both feet being amputated.

‘’First I had to figure out if I would even walk again,’’ he said. ‘’I’d seen athletes before me prove it was possible. When I rode a snowboard after healing, I knew: Okay, I can do this.’’

Not only was Para snowboard possible but so was Para surfing – he has competed at a world championships in that sport – and of course sky diving which he’s resumed with great gusto.

For Turner, techniques intertwine between the three sports. For example, before his gold medal final at Beijing 2022, he approached the race like an actual skydive. Canada’s Para snowboard head coach Greg Picard is also an aficionado of the sport.

‘’My coach and I planned that race like a jump,’’ Turner recalled. ‘’We talked about aircraft type, wind direction, exit separation, stuff only skydivers understand. When the camera panned to me people thought I was dancing but I was just running my emergency procedures, like I always do before a jump.”

Turner’s love of life and of sport is infectious. His friends and teammates call him the “Fun Hound’’ for his relentless pursuit of joy.

This past May, Alberta Snowboard held a developmental camp that was funded in part by the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Paralympic Sport Development Fund (PSDF). Turner was one of the mentors.

‘’It’s really cool seeing people get on the snow for the first time,’’ he said. ‘’I want more people involved in Para snowboarding and now we’re finding them. Sport has given me amazing opportunities. I couldn’t ask for better people in my corner.’’

While life has changed, his approach to snowboarding hasn’t. He’s focused, grounded, grateful and ready for Milano Cortina 2026.

‘’It’s a busier lead-up than Beijing,’’ he said. ‘’But I’m smiling. If Beijing taught me anything it’s to enjoy every second … because you never know where the ride will take you.’’