The sun came out over the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on Monday morning, and Patrick Halgren took it as a sign.

He had been leaving small blue-and-yellow stickers around Cortina d'Ampezzo since before the Games began. Each one printed with a single word: "SvendIt." A play on the skier's expression for committing fully to a run. A play on the name of his twin brother, Lucan Sven, who died in a motorcycle crash in New Zealand in December 2016.

On Monday, in his first Paralympic Winter Games, Halgren crossed the finish of the men's standing Super-G in 1:13.10. Switzerland's Robin Cuche had gone 1:12.12 for gold. France's Jules Segers came in at 1:13.59 for bronze. Between them, Halgren stood with a silver medal, arms spread wide at the line.

His parents, Kathy and Peter, watched from the stands. It was their third trip abroad.

How He Got Here

Halgren's path to para alpine skiing began with a motorcycle accident in 2013. Racing to work one morning, he failed to navigate a turn and hit a telephone pole at speed. Paramedics reached him after he'd severed a major artery. He was in a coma for a month. When he came out, his left leg was gone above the knee. He was 20 years old.

It was Lucan who pushed him toward competitive skiing. The two spent the 2016 southern hemisphere ski season together at The Remarkables resort near Queenstown, New Zealand, fitting snow chains and working in the car park, staying close to the mountains. That December, Lucan was killed on State Highway 8 near Mount Cook on the South Island.

Halgren made his Paralympic debut at Beijing 2022, finishing 24th in slalom and 26th in giant slalom in the men's standing division. His world championship results over the next three years placed him in the mid-teens in technical events. He was not among the projected Super-G contenders at Milano Cortina.

He competes in sport class LW2, single leg amputation above the knee, one ski and poles. He races with what's there.

What the Stickers Mean

Before flying to Italy, Halgren had a batch of stickers printed. He left the first in the bathroom of a restaurant near Cortina before competition started, and planned to leave them across the region as the Games continued.

"SvendIt" is a blend of two things: the skier's instruction to commit fully to a line, and his twin's middle name, Sven. The sticker is Lucan's name turned into a philosophy. When Halgren describes his approach to racing, the phrase shows up. When he describes his approach to life after 2016, the phrase shows up.

"I could either roll over and die, or I could become the greatest Patrick Halgren on earth," he said before the Games. "And that's what you're seeing."

His teammates call him "Powerhouse Pat." He arrived in Cortina as one of the livelier personalities in the U.S. alpine program, not its most likely medalist.

A Double Podium on Day 3

Para alpine competition at the 2026 Games has moved into speed events this week. Andrew Kurka, racing the men's sitting Super-G, won bronze in 1:13.95, 0.87 seconds behind gold medalist Jeroen Kampschreur of the Netherlands. It was the latest addition to a career that includes a 2018 downhill gold.

Halgren's silver was his first career Paralympic medal.

Laurie Stephens, who carried the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony last Friday and is competing in the women's sitting Super-G, raced Monday at Tofane in what is her sixth and final Paralympic Games. The para alpine schedule continues through the week with giant slalom and slalom still ahead for both the sitting and standing fields.

The SvendIt stickers will keep going up. Halgren has slalom and giant slalom still to race.