Aaron Pike

Pikester (Twitter profile, 08 Dec 2019)

Shooting 20 for 20 in the 15km individual biathlon at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018)

His family. (teateamusa.org, 19 Feb 2017)

US long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018)

He travels with his own coffee and coffee maker when he competes. (nbcolympics.com, 28 Dec 2017)

He has represented United States of America in Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing, and competed in both sports at the 2014 and 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. He also played wheelchair basketball at university level in the United States of America. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 Aug 2020; startribune.com, 24 Jan 2015)

His partner Oksana Masters has represented the United States of America in Para cycling, Para rowing, Para cross-country skiing and Para biathlon. She won bronze in the trunk and arms double sculls rowing event at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, and competed in Para cycling at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She also competed in both Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing at the 2014 and 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, winning seven medals across both sports. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 Aug 2020; usatoday.com, 22 Jan 2018; nbcolympics.com, 28 Dec 2017)

To win a medal in the marathon event at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (paralympic.org, 11 May 2018)

He sustained a spinal cord injury in a hunting accident at age 13. A member of another hunting party fired his shotgun in the direction of a noise he heard, and one of the pellets struck Pike in the back. (startribune.com, 24 Jan 2015)

OVERSEAS EDUCATION
He attended Ramstein American High School in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. (teamusa.org, 01 Jun 2015)

MULTI-SPORT ATHLETE
As well as wheelchair racing, he has also represented the United States of America in Para cross-country skiing and Para biathlon. He says he enjoys competing in both summer and winter sports, and that his vast experience in wheelchair racing allows him to transition fairly easily from winter sports to Para athletics. "After my first time trying Nordic skiing I knew that it wasn't going to be my last time. I liked the sport immediately and knew that I wouldn't be able to give it up. So then I decided that I was going to try to balance the two sports. I have been able to come off of the winter season and get into the racing chair and feel strong within four weeks. I would attribute that to the fact that I have been doing wheelchair racing for about 12 years [speaking in 2018]. Without that long history in the racing chair it would not be possible. It takes a long time to learn the stroke for wheelchair racing and become efficient in wheelchair racing. I would say that if I started both sports around the same time, then it would not have been possible. With this constant flow I enjoy one [sport] and then start missing the other after I've been on the one for a while. I like the back and forth. And they are very compatible, luckily." (paralympic.org, 11 May 2018; teamusa.org, 18 Mar 2020)