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Summit para snowboarder Joe Pleban nominated for Americas Paralympic athlete of the month

Voting open through Friday

Summit County local adaptive snowboarder Joe Pleban races in Big White, Canada on Feb. 13.
Photo from Andrew Jay

COPPER MOUNTAIN RESORT — Joe Pleban of Silverthorne has been nominated for Athlete of the Month honors for February 2020 by the Americas Paralympic Committee.

The para snowboarder Pleban was one of five athletes from North and South America to be nominated for the award. Pleban was the United States’ sole nominee for the honor thanks to his impressive performance at the 2020 World Para Snowboard Nor Am last month in Big White, Canada, where Pleban won two silver medals in snowboard cross.

The result came shortly after Pleban was the fastest local at last month’s Dew Tour adaptive banked slalom competition at Copper Mountain Resort, where he earned seventh place. Earlier this season, Pleban had top-10 success at World Cup events, including a bronze medal in snowboard cross in Pyha, Finland.



Along with Pleban, other nominees were Herbert Aceituno, a powerlifter from El Salvador; Maria Antonieta Ortiz, a powerlifter from Chile; taekwondo athlete Gersson Mejia of Guatemala; and Brazilian runner Vanessa Cristina de Souza.

Pleban, a member of the Adaptive Action Sports para-snowboard family based out of Copper Mountain Resort, has become one of the country’s best adaptive snowboarders after a rare joint disease resulted in the amputation of his left foot several years ago.



Nominations were compiled from submissions by various national Paralympic committees. For more information and to vote, visit: Paralympic.org/Americas-Paralympic-Committee.


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