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A rider from the days before Para snowboard became a Paralympic sport, New Zealander Carl Murphy has an impressive resume of finishes under his belt.
In 2012, he won the head-to-head snowboard-cross format and finished second in the sling-shot at the World Snowboard Federation World Championships in Orcieres, France.
In recent seasons, he has finished in the top 10 in the men’s SB-LL2 World Cup rankings. His record in 2014-15 showed his podium potential, with a gold in banked slalom and a bronze in snowboard-cross at an IPC Snowboard World Cup in Big White, Canada.
But he subsequently missed the 2015 World Championships, due to an injury sustained at the 2015 X Games, and the 2015-16 World Cup season, due to a serious knee injury.
Murphy likes to joke about how his below-the-knee impairment came about:
“I lost my leg at a young age while surfing off the south coast of Australia when a tiger shark thought I looked like a tasty lunch package!”
“Ha, I wish it was that dramatic! I was actually born with only one and a half legs. However, this has not stopped me from getting up on a snowboard and competing at an international level.”
Murphy is also the only impaired rider to be named onto the New Zealand national team, and will be back on snow in 2016-17 aiming to get back to his best.
Photo Gallery
Biography
Impairment information
Further personal information
Sport specific information
General interest
In January 2015 he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] in his left knee at the Winter X Games in Aspen, CO, United States of America. He returned to full training on snow 12 months later. (Athlete, 06 Mar 2018; paralympic.org, 31 Jan 2016)
In December 2013 he suffered a tibial plateau fracture and partially ruptured the lateral collateral ligament [LCL] in his knee after overshooting a jump during training. It took him 12 weeks to fully recover from the injuries. (Athlete, 06 Mar 2018; voxy.co.nz, 05 Mar 2014)
In 2013 he was named Athlete of the Year and Adaptive Athlete of the Year by Snow Sports New Zealand. (insidethegames.biz, 05 Oct 2013)
In October 2018 he announced he would not be competing during the 2018/19 northern hemisphere season. "I feel after so many years it's a good time to give my mind, body and family a break. For now, I look forward to watching the World Cup tour from my living room and maybe I will be back in 2019/20. Watch this space." (Facebook page, 17 Oct 2018)
Results
| Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Para Snowboard Cross Standing | Final Round | 2014-03-14 | 4 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Banked Slalom SB-LL2 | Race 1 | 2017-02-07 | 12 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Snowboard Cross SB-LL2 | Final | 2018-03-12 | 6 | |
| Men's Banked Slalom SB-LL2 | Final | 2018-03-16 | 5 |