Imagen
a male Para ice hockey player

Declan Farmer

Para Ice Hockey
2

Declan Farmer scored both the go-ahead goal with 37 seconds left in regulation and the game-winner in overtime against Canada to give the USA its third consecutive Paralympic gold at PyeongChang 2018.

Farmer’s gold medal-winning score also tied him for most goals by one player at a single Paralympics; Sylvester Flis also had 11 goals for the USA at the Salt Lake City 2002 Games.

With 12 goals and six assists, Farmer was named Best Forward at the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Gangneung, South Korea. It was not enough however for his team to retain their world title as they lost out to rivals Canada 4-1 in the gold medal game.

Farmer has better memories of the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool, where he scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal match, again against Canada, taking his team to back-to-back Paralympic and World victories.

Farmer, clearly buoyed by his home ice in Buffalo, New York, USA, also tied the Team USA record for the most goals in a single Worlds with six goals in five games.

That crowned a season in which he finished as the team leader with 10 goals and 21 points, and ranked second overall in assists (11).

He improved again in 2015-16, recording 13 goals and eight assists to equal his career high 21 points from the previous season.

Following his contribution to the USA’s gold medal winning performance against Russia at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, Farmer also received the ESPY Award from ESPN as the 2014 Best Male Athlete with a Disability.

Farmer was born a bilateral amputee and began playing the sport in 2006.

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency
Origin of Impairment
Congenital

Further personal information

Residence
Tampa, FL, USA
Occupation
Student
Languages
English
Higher education
Economics - Princeton University: United States

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport?
He began playing Para ice hockey in 2008 in Tampa, FL, United States of America.
Why this sport?
"I was just looking around for adaptive sports in the Tampa Bay area. The Tampa Bay Lightning had a sledge hockey programme and I started from there."
Name of coach
David Hoff [national]
Preferred position / style / stance / technique
Forward

International debut

Year
2012
Competing for
United States
Opponent
Norway
Location
Calgary, AB, CAN

General interest

Hobbies
Biking, weightlifting, playing video games, watching sports, listening to music. (teamusa.org, 2017)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018)
Most influential person in career
US Para ice hockey player Ron Richardson. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018)
Hero / Idol
US Para ice hockey player Josh Pauls. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"If you ain't first, you're last." (cooperstrength.com, 21 Jul 2014)
Awards and honours
In 2017 and 2019 he was named Best Forward at the world championships. (paralympic.org, 04 May 2019, 30 Jan 2018)

He was named Best Forward at the 2016 Pan Pacific Championships in Buffalo, NY, United States of America. (hockeygods.com, 02 Apr 2016)

He was named Best Male Athlete with an Impairment at the 2014 ESPY Awards in United States of America. (paralympic.org, 13 Mar 2015)

In April 2014 he took part in the ceremonial puck drop prior to Tampa Bay Lightning's home NHL match against the Montreal Canadiens. (paralympic.org, 13 Mar 2015)

He was named Best Male Athlete at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi by the International Paralympic Committee [IPC]. (paralympic.org, 13 Mar 2015)
Famous relatives
His uncle played professional baseball, and his aunt competed in distance running at university level in the United States of America. (lightning.nhl.com, 03 Aug 2012)
Ambitions
To win gold at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing. (paralympic.org, 18 Mar 2019)
Impairment
He was born with a bilateral amputation, one above the knee and one below the knee. He learned to walk on prosthetic legs at age one. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018, 06 Mar 2014; tampabay.com, 09 Apr 2010)
Other information
LEADER
He was named an alternate captain of the US national team for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons. (teamusa.usahockey.com, 30 Nov 2018; paralympic.org, 29 Oct 2017)

Results

Unit Date Rank
Paralympic Winter Games 2014 (Sochi, Russia)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Mixed Group B 2014-03-08 1
Mixed Group B 2014-03-09 3
Mixed Group B 2014-03-11 6
Mixed Group B - Standings 2014-03-11 2
Mixed Semifinal 2014-03-13 202
Mixed Gold Medal Match 2014-03-15 101
Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games (Pyeongchang, South Korea)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Mixed Tournament Group B 2018-03-11 2
Mixed Tournament Group B 2018-03-12 4
Mixed Tournament Group B 2018-03-13 5
Mixed Tournament Group B - Standings 2018-03-13 1
Mixed Tournament Semifinal 2018-03-15 2
Mixed Tournament Gold Medal Match 2018-03-18 1