From Shriners Patient to Team USA: Salt Lake City Skier Noah Bury Headed to First Winter Paralympics

At just 23 years old, former Shriners Children's Salt Lake City patient Noah Bury is headed to the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympics for his first Winter Games, just three years after competing in para alpine skiing for the first time.

Noah qualified to compete in the slalom at the Winter Games and will be an alternate in the giant slalom and super-G. Although he skied throughout his childhood, Noah wasn't introduced to adaptive skiing until after high school. The Utah native was born with tibial hemimelia and underwent a below-the-knee amputation with Shriners Children's when he was 8 months old. From the time he was born until he turned 21, Noah was a patient at Shriners Children's Salt Lake City.

"I can remember Shriners Children's as the first place I learned to adapt and innovate my approach to life," Noah said. "I had this unique part of me that not many people in the world could relate to. Shriners Children's helped me figure it out and be creative with solutions. I remember creating a foot with my prosthetist for skiing that had never been done before. Shriners Children's played a huge part in my athletic discovery. They never restricted access to anything. They made me lots of prosthetics that I could use for all my activities."

Noah felt a combination of exhilaration and relief when he found out he made Team USA for the Winter Paralympics. The 23-year-old even teared up after receiving the call. In just a few short years, Noah pushed himself from someone who had never competed in para alpine to making the pinnacle event of his sport. He encouraged other Shriners Children's patients to push their boundaries.

"You are a powerful creator," Noah said. "Seriously, whatever you want to do, go out and create something. Everybody struggles with stuff, and there's always a reason not to do something. Limiting ourselves is the greatest way to quell our own lives. Do something crazy. Take a risk. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine being at this level at the Paralympics. Taking one little risk, then one more risk, and a compounding effect of all those risks led me here."

The Paralympics start on March 6, 2026, with para alpine skiing competition taking place over seven days throughout the Games. Noah's Paralympic career is just getting started, and he plans to soak it all in, connecting with other Paralympians and enjoying the experience.