Turner rides adrenalin rush at Paralympics eyeing repeat gold in snowboard cross

Tyler Turner competes in the men’s snowboard cross SB-LL1 qualification heats at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Cortina, Italy on March 7, 2026 // Tyler Turner participe aux qualifications de snowboard cross SB-LL1 hommes aux Jeux paralympiques de 2026 à Cortina, en Italie, le 7 mars 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout – CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Dave Holland

Tyler Turner sees himself as an adrenalin enthusiast, not an adrenalin junkie.

The 37-year-old lives life on the edge, with passions for snowboarding and skydiving.

“Junkies are addicted and I could quit at any time, which is not true, but you know, I love just taking a little risk, trying to figure out where the line is and pushing myself personally past a comfort zone,” he said. “I think that’s where we find the most growth in life too, is being outside of our comfort zone.

“I’ve almost become addicted to that, just trying to find what’s just beyond what I’m comfortable in. And then it creates a whole new comfort zone and it creates this big circle ... that’s where the addiction probably comes in. It just continues and I’m always trying to find what’s next and what’s possible.”

He entered the Paralympic Games as the defending men’s snowboard cross champion and since, a three-time world champion. Turner is Canada’s first-ever gold medallist in the event. The Campbell River, B.C., native also earned bronze in the banked slalom at his first Games in 2022.

“The target’s on my back now, and it’s a lot different,” he said. “It’s not just free, let it all out there. The feeling is much more calculated. And yeah, I just hope that I can show up and put my best performance out there, because if I do that, I know I have the potential to win.”

Turner was the top qualifier in the men’s SB-LL1 category snowboard cross on Saturday with a top time of 51.72 seconds, with the playoff rounds and medal final going Sunday. SB-LL1 is for snowboarders with moderately affected movement the knees or legs, the absence of one leg above the knee or two legs below the knee.

“It’s crazy out there. It’s fast,” he told reporters in Italy. The course changes very rapidly with the colder temperatures in the morning and very quick heat throughout the day."

“We’re a bunch of amputees and injured people up there. We can adapt on the fly. We’re good at this,” he added of dealing with the temperature changes.

Turner was named the best winter male athlete in 2025 after winning the Crystal Globe as the overall standings leader.

But all the success came after a time of difficulty, followed by realization and a desire for more.

Turner lost both legs below the knee because of a skydiving accident in 2017, a freak crash during an otherwise routine landing after filming a guest complete their first tandem skydive from 10,000 feet.

He spent four days in a coma and years on painkillers, battling Depression and addiction.

But he returned to being a skydiving instructor, and found that he was still capable doing what he loved in snowboarding.

“There was moments, especially in the first few years, where I just didn’t have that drive anymore,” he said. “But once I had my second leg amputated and I realized that I was going to be capable of doing most of what I wanted to, and those goals and dreams that I had, and kind of the recalibration, it was going to be possible, it did get me re-motivated.

“I don’t take the risk like I used to. Classic quote. I used to hang out at 11, I like to keep the volume at nine these days. Just a little bit back from the line, but in saying that, I think anyone that looks at how I live probably doesn’t believe that for a second. But the risk I take is a lot more calculated these days, it’s not as loose.”

Seeing that possibility with snowboarding allowed Turner to see success for himself when he entered para sport a few years ago.

“I thought there was potential that I could have some success. When it actually happened though, that was like -- you just never know if it’s actually going to happen,” he said. “So to have that success was pretty dang cool and pretty amazing to actually make it happen. And then going on from that to continue to have success, in no way has it gotten to my head.”

Turner has enjoyed the exposure that’s come from his success, however, including being on season nine of the Amazing Race.

“All this, more than anything, just adds more factors, probably more stress and more pressure,” he said. “So I’m just trying to focus on what the goal is and I know that I love to snowboard and when I’m having fun I can snowboard well. So it’s just a matter of figuring out how I can have the most fun out there.”

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press