Rico Roman (born February 4, 1981) is an American gold medal ice sled hockey player and Purple Heart recipient from Portland, Oregon who competed in 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.[1]
 Roman in 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 4, 1981 Portland, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Alpha High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | San Antonio Rampage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editRoman, who is of Mexican American descent, graduated from Alpha High School in 2000 and joined United States Army soon after.[1] His left leg got amputated after he hit an Improvised explosive device while serving in the Iraq War[2] in February[1] 2007. After the injury, one of the Operation Comfort personnel[3] have suggested him to join the San Antonio Rampage sled hockey club where he later played from 2009 to 2011 seasons.[1][4]
Career
editIn 2012 he joined Dallas Stars which he helped by winning the USA Hockey Sled Classic Division A Championship. From 2011 until now he serves on the United States National Sled Hockey Team and was a winner of the 2013 USA Hockey Sled Cup. In November 2011 he became a silver medal recipient at the IPC World Sledge Hockey Challenge and next year won gold at the same place, following by another silver in 2013. In 2012 he was awarded with a gold medal by winning the International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship and next year won a silver one at the same place.[1] Prior to sled hockey he was quoted saying:
They asked me to come out and play sled hockey, and I was like, I don't come from a hockey state. I'm from Oregon. We don't play hockey there. How many Hispanics do you see playing hockey?
[5] In 2014 he got another gold medal, this time at Sochi Paralympics.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Rico Roman". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
- ^ Eliza Murphy (February 5, 2014). "Wounded Veteran Goes from War to US Paralympic Sled Hockey Team". ABC News. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
- ^ Amanda Shalala (March 11, 2014). "Rico Roman leads United States sledge hockey team at Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi". ABC. Archived from the original on November 1, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
- ^ Krtistina Puga (November 6, 2013). "One-legged vet, new to sled hockey, to compete in Sochi 2014". NBC Latino. NBC. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
- ^ Tess Scott (March 14, 2014). "Veteran Goes for Gold With Sled Hockey Team at Paralympics". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
- ^ Doug Williams (January 24, 2018). "My Focus: How Rico Roman Helps Keep The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team In The Right Frame Of Mind". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
External links
edit
Media related to Rico Roman at Wikimedia Commons
- Rico Roman - USA - Para Ice Hockey at the International Paralympic Committee
- Rico Roman - Sled Hockey at Team USA (archived)
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