Zach Williams has never defined himself by what he lacks, but by the way he moves. The American skier met the qualification criteria for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, yet a pre-season injury will prevent him from competing. The pause does not alter the core of his story, shaped by a constant relationship with movement. “I’ve been an amputee pretty much my whole life,” he explains. “I had surgery at 18 months old and I’ve been wearing prostheses since I was two. That’s just how I’ve walked.”
Born without tibias, Zach Williams grew up adapting without turning adaptation into a narrative. “I can walk and I get around just fine,” he says. And adds, matter-of-factly, “Even my $35,000 knee is only going to do a fraction of what your knee is capable of.” There is no drama in the comparison, only precision. “It will have limitations,” he admits, describing a device rather than an identity.
First love at 15, rookie at 39
Before snow came engines and the ocean. “ATVs were my first love in that sense,” he recalls. “I could move through the woods without worrying about how I was going to get over rocks and stumps.” Later came surfing in Los Angeles. “I lived in Los Angeles for 15 years and surfed the whole time,” he says. “I’d go before work and after work.” Then the contrast: “Nothing has ever let me move my body with the kind of freedom, speed and control that skiing does.”
The shift happened almost by accident. Living in Arizona, he spotted a flyer for free adaptive ski lessons in Flagstaff. “I thought, ‘there are no waves at 7,000 feet,’ so I signed up,” he says. One day was enough. “I skied for the first time at 39 and I was immediately hooked.” Soon after, he asked the question directly: “I asked my instructor if the Paralympics were a pipe dream or a possibility.” The answer was clear: “It’s going to take a lot of hard work, but it’s possible.” Zach Williams entered high performance in his forties. “How many Olympic athletes can say they started a sport at 39?” he asks.
That age, rather than a barrier, became part of his narrative. “I’m having a life I would never have if I were able-bodied,” he says. “I want to be the best skier on the mountain.” The defining moment was not a podium finish, but a decision. With a Master’s degree in Health Sciences, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and a stable career, he chose to pivot after the pandemic. “I wasn’t living the dream and I wanted to ski,” he admits. “I did some math, made some choices and took a leap.” He sold his home in California and moved to Utah to train full-time. “I sold my house to fund my life as an athlete,” he sums up.
It’s not just you, it’s the machine
In Para alpine skiing, body and engineering coexist. “It’s not just you, it’s this machine,” he explains, comparing his sit ski to a Formula 1 car. “You’re trying to transfer movement from the seat, through the frame, into the ski, and feel that feedback come back up.” Small adjustments in angles, shocks and geometry can change everything. “The setup that works in one scenario might not be ideal in another.” His prosthetics background led him to design his own bucket seats. “Stock seats are built with different profiles in mind,” he explains. “I prefer something organic that wraps around my thigh.” He experimented with 3D printing before returning to traditional casting when materials failed under stress. “I’ve gone through several iterations,” he says. “It’s trial and error.”
Technology is also central to his everyday prosthesis. “My knee has five sensors reading data 50 or 60 times per second,” he explains. “A microprocessor adjusts hydraulic resistance depending on what I’m doing.” Still, he insists: “It’s different. The world is designed for anatomical knees.”
Visibility and what comes next
Zach Williams also reflects on the Paralympic landscape. “The coverage in Paris was amazing,” he says, referring to Paris 2024. “I could watch anything I wanted, whenever I wanted.” Visibility, he believes, is key to progress. “They’re not putting disabled athletes on a cereal box every day,” he notes. “But I think a lot of times our stories are more interesting.”
His most recent season included unexpected setbacks: a fire in his apartment, a delayed training camp, and a crash that left him with a fractured neck. Although he met the criteria for Milano Cortina 2026, he will not compete. “I’m competing against the clock and against myself,” he says. More teams will be announced in the coming weeks ahead of the Paralympic Games, which begin on March 6.
At 46, a rookie on the national team and new to the elite circuit, Zach Williams does not define his journey by a single start gate. “My life has been so rich because I listened to my heart and followed my dreams,” he says. And, true to the phrase that guided his turning point, he concludes: “Start doing the math, make some choices and take a leap.”
