Redefining Disability

Mikinzie Adams-Davis is an active 15-year-old adaptive athlete involved in a number of sports and recreational activities. But para cheer caught her attention, so she tried out for the team. Now she has been part of the U.S. Para Cheer Team for the past five or six years. As a right leg amputee, she says that having one leg never stopped her from doing anything.

Lee Trudell has been involved in cheerleading for over 30 years, starting back in high school. He had a job working cheer camps for 15 years and then starting judging and coaching. He now serves as the adaptive director and coach of the para cheer team for USA Cheer.

After a snowmobile accident in 1995 that resulted in a spinal cord injury, Geoff Krill began skiing again and soon became a professional ski instructor. Since his injury, he has competed both nationally and internationally in downhill mountain biking and skiing events. Geoff has participated in numerous wheelchair first ascents focused on breaking boundaries. He also serves as President of Eastern Adaptive Sports and is the coach of the PSIA-AASI National Adaptive Team.

Keely Icardi had an accident shortly after graduating from high school. She started in adaptive archery and dabbled over time in different sports. But in 2017, she got introduced to a local CheerAbilities team and is a member of the U.S. Para Cheer Team.

Noah Bury had his ankle amputated when he was just 12 months old. He wasn’t introduced to adaptive sports until he was 18 years old, when he connected with Ogden Valley Adaptive Sports, a Move United member organization in Utah. He was invited out to The Hartford Ski Spectacular and is now training with another member organization, NSCD, to compete in para alpine skiing.

Mia Emory is a high school student who started her adaptive sports journey in 2019 playing wheelchair basketball. She also competes in track, swimming, and other sports through the Navigators Adaptive Sports Club, a Move United member organization based in New Jersey. Emory, who was born with spina bifida, has committed to playing wheelchair basketball at the University of Arizona next year.

Sandy Dukat was born with a limb deficiency in her right leg, leading to an amputation above the knee at four years old. She started out competing in swimming, but switched to alpine skiing after finding her love for speed on the slopes. Sandy made the U.S. Disabled Ski Team in 2000 and would earn two bronze medals at the 2002 Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City and another bronze at the 2006 Paralympics. After that, she would go on to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, win the World Triathlon Championships, summit Cotopaxi, and more. Sandy was recently inducted into the Adaptive Sports Hall of Fame.

JJ O’Connor played ice hockey growing up. When he was 16 years old, he was injured during a game that left him paralyzed. In 2002, at the 23, he was elected the chair of the disabled section for USA Hockey, a position he held for nearly two decades. JJ was instrumental in the development of sled hockey and other disciplines. He continues to coach the Chicago Hornets sled hockey team in the Chicago area and plays power soccer with GLASA as well. JJ is also a successful small business owner.

Nina Cutro-Kelly joined the Move United staff in 2023 as a Competition Manager, directly supporting Move United sanctioned competitions and Nationals. She represented Team USA at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The nine-time World Team member continued her competitive success in 2022 when she reached the podium at the Pan American Championships, winning her fifth career medal at the event. Cutro-Kelly, who has 50% hearing loss in both ears, also made history in 2022 as the first U.S. judo athlete ever to win gold at the Deaflympics.

Adam Popp is a 12-year combat veteran of the Air Force with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007, while working to disarm a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, Adam was injured by a secondary IED resulting in the amputation of his right leg above the knee. In the years following his injury, Adam endeavored to find meaning and purpose. Ultimately, he found that running, sports, and advocacy work was his path to fulfillment and self-actualization. Adam is an eight-time Guinness World Record holder, has five 100-mile finishes, and won the 2024 Boston Marathon’s Para Elite division and set a world best at the London Marathon just six days later.