This Connecticut Paralympian won a silver medal, but that wasn't even the best day of his life

Lori Riley, Hartford Courant on Mar 13, 2026

Published in Olympics

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

HARTFORD, Conn. — Patrick Halgren said Wednesday was the best day of his life.

That was two days after he won his first Paralympic medal, a silver, in the Super G competition in Cortina, Italy.

Before Monday, he had never finished on a podium in any World Cup race, and had finished 24th in slalom and 26th in giant slalom at the 2022 Paralympics.

This is the philosophy of Halgren — who grew up in Tolland and lost his left leg in a motorcycle accident in 2013. Today is the best day. Tomorrow will be even better.

“It’s the best day until tomorrow,” Halgren said Wednesday from Italy. “It has been the best nine days of my life because my parents got to be here and I’m seeing the experience that I went through four years ago when I first came to Europe through the eyes of my parents, who made me and taught me all these values — discipline and all that.

“Just to be with them, to look in my dad’s eyes and see how proud he is of me. … Showing my mom I’m the man we always dreamed I would be is just beautiful.”

Halgren, 33, lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., now, mostly in a van he named Vanessa. He doesn’t get back to Tolland much, spending his winters competing and training in Europe, but his parents still live in town.

He was a skier before his accident but his twin brother Lucas, who worked with adaptive skiers, encouraged him to keep skiing after he lost his leg. Lucas died in a motorcycle accident in 2016 in New Zealand, but Patrick has carried his spirit to Italy.

“He pushed me over the line in that Super G,” Halgren said. “He’s always with me. This was his dream originally so it’s so beautiful to have him with me all the time.”

Halgren did not finish his first downhill race at the Paralympics Saturday.

“I was scared out of my mind for the first one but the second one I wasn’t as intimidated,” he said. “It’s just experience. The more you do it, the better you get. You’re going to get emotional, you’re going to get scared — but if you use those emotions, and try to learn from that, you’ll get better. I grew in a positive way.

He finished seventh — “My brother’s lucky number,” he said — in the alpine combined standing on Tuesday, his best finish in the event. He has two more events — giant slalom Friday and slalom Sunday.

“I’m glad I didn’t win gold (Monday) so I can keep my heart in this sport and stay hungry because it’s tough,” he said. “This sport, it’ll eat you alive.

“Next is getting the national anthem played — for the gold medalist — that will be next. If you work hard and have a dream, it’ll happen. Maybe four years from now, maybe even a couple days who knows?”