Follow Your DREAMS
Muffy Davis:
Breaking Barriers Muffy Davis knows no bounds. She has won medals in multiple Paralympic Games as part of Team USA, holds over 25 World Cup titles, is a loving mother and wife and successful motivational speaker. She has triumphed through life’s challenges to become the accomplished woman she is today. As a young skier and Olympic hopeful, Davis’ journey to the Olympic Games was disrupted by a life-altering accident in the late 1980s. While traveling at over 45 MPH, she skied through a safety fence and hit two trees. Although her helmet saved her life, her spine was fractured, which rendered her paralyzed from her midchest down. Davis was only 16 years old. Although she was forced to confront her new disability, it marked the beginning of a rewarding and successful career. Instead of simply surviving, Davis chose to thrive. It was a combination of moments that led Davis to accept her fate and flourish with her new circumstances. “I was young; I was 16. After a couple years, I realized I wasn’t going to wake up and I didn’t want to miss 18. I had spent a lot of time in therapy and rehab. I looked at my mom and said, ‘Mom, I’m okay with this and you have to be too. I want to live. I want to move forward,’” said Davis.
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A year after her accident, Davis captured a glimpse of the world of adaptive sports when she saw the Disabled Alpine World Championships in Winter Park, Colorado. Her first reaction was “Hey, I can do that” and her fiery passion for competitive sports was once again ignited. And so, Davis embarked on her journey to the Paralympics. Her hard work led her to the 1998 Nagano Paralympic Games where she won a bronze medal in Slalom; 2002 Salt Lake City Paralympic Games where she took home three silver medals for Downhill, Super G, and Giant Slalom; and the 2012 London Paralympic Games where she transitioned to handcycling and won three gold medals for individual H1-3 Road Race, H1-4 Team Relay, and H1-2 Individual Time Trial. Despite her unstoppable nature, Davis is only human and faces tough and stressful days like everyone else. To help her cope, she gives herself “grieving days” which she has been using for decades. After her accident, she felt compelled to maintain her usual upbeat personality to stay strong for her friends and family. Her mother encouraged her to embrace emotions such as anger and sadness to allow for a release. Grieving days are Davis’ way of embracing the