There were dark days when Tyler Turner wished he鈥檇 died in the skydiving accident that cost him his legs.
Because then he wouldn鈥檛 be facing the decision of whether to push forward, or simply exist.
On Monday, the 33-year-old from Campbell River, B.C., captured Canada鈥檚 first Paralympic snowboarding gold medal, racing to victory in snowboard cross at the Beijing Games.
And moments before standing atop the podium, a highlight of a six-medal day for Canada, Turner reflected on how far he鈥檇 come.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of crazy to look back,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 realize it while you鈥檙e in it. But then you look back. Four-and-a-half years later 鈥� holy smokes, the progression is unbelievable.鈥�
Turner built a commanding lead in Monday鈥檚 big final at Genting Snow Park to win gold. Moments earlier, Lisa DeJong of Sherwood Park, Alta., captured silver in the women鈥檚 race.
In cross-country, Brian McKeever easily defended his title in the men鈥檚 20-kilometre race, winning a whopping 14th Paralympic gold and 18th medal. Natalie Wilkie won the women鈥檚 15K race, while teammate Brittany Hudak raced to bronze. And Alana Ramsay earned bronze in Alpine鈥檚 super combined.
Turner is a lifelong lover of gravity sports. He was a skydiving instructor with years of experience when he landed hard in a jump from 10,000 feet in 2017. He鈥檚 not sure what went wrong. He has no memory of the crash, nor the final minute before impact.
鈥淲hich I鈥檓 OK with,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have no PTSD. I鈥檓 quite lucky in a way,鈥� he said.
But the months that followed were tough. He was in a coma for five days, and suffered a brain injury. His pelvis and spine were surgically fixated. He initially lost his right leg, but had his badly damaged left leg amputated about a year after the crash.
Depression, he said, was a 鈥渄eep dark hole.鈥� But the longing to snowboard, surf 鈥� and even skydive again 鈥� tugged at him. Plus, he wanted to prove people wrong.
Turner chronicled his progression in an Instagram story, beginning on Day 1 after his second amputation when, while still hooked up to an I.V., he popped a wheelie in the hospital hallway.
On Day 510, he was able to snowboard 10 feet, using poles for support. The pain, he said, was intense.
On Day 642, after being helped up onto his board by a friend, he rode a full run at K3 Cat Ski in Revelstoke, B.C., where he鈥檇 worked for years.
鈥淚 got back as early as humanly possible, because I love snowboarding, it鈥檚 my entire life,鈥� Turner said. 鈥淎nd so, I pushed it pretty early. It was extremely painful, but also really rewarding to realize early on that I was still going to be capable of doing it. And then with a little bit of patience, I was able to work through getting the proper legs, proper prosthetics and have the right amount of healing time where, a couple of seasons after, I was able to really get back on the level I wanted to.鈥�
In 2020, Turner became the first bilateral amputee to fly a wingsuit, calling the high-adrenalin pursuit the closest thing to being a bird.
His crash and his recovery, not only of his body, but of his love for life, was captured in longtime friend Lara Shea鈥檚 documentary 鈥淪ixty Seconds,鈥� which premiered in November.
Turner cringes at the word 鈥渋nspiration.鈥�
鈥淭he 鈥業 word鈥� we call it in our house,鈥� he said.
But he hopes his journey to the top of the Paralympic podium can help others see the possibilities.
鈥淭hat is one of the coolest parts is that, as much as I don鈥檛 like the word inspiration, the ability to inspire people who are in a place that I was four years ago, which is a really dark place, I鈥檓 super aware of how that feels. And I had people that went out of their way, from athletes from the Canadian team, who helped to inspire me early on to pursue what I鈥檓 doing now.
鈥淚 think the word is overused, but if I can help to inspire people that are in that position, then that is the right way to use that word.鈥�
McKeever, meanwhile, won his 14th Paralympic title, and 18th medal spanning an incredible six Games, with one of the most dominant races of his career.
McKeever, who has visually impairment, and guide Russell Kennedy, who competed all season on the World Cup circuit, plus in Canada鈥檚 Beijing Olympic trials, posted a time of 55 minutes 36.7 seconds. American silver medallists Jake Adicoff and guide Sam Wood were more than three minutes back.
鈥淓very one of these races gets more stressful at the start. We are in a place we have never been. We didn鈥檛 know what the snow was like, so all of these stressful factors add up,鈥� McKeever said. 鈥淭here was some stress today, but that is why it was more fun. When you have these perfect days, you just smile and enjoy it.鈥�
Wilkie, a 21-year-old from Salmon Arm, B.C., won the 15K race by nearly a minute, crossing in 48.04 for her fourth Paralympic medal.
鈥淚 did it. I just went hard and waited for everyone to catch me, but nobody did. I am so happy,鈥� said Wilkie. 鈥淚t is unreal. I went into this race trying not to think about the end result but to focus on the process and ski as well as I could.
鈥淚 was completely surprised that my coaches kept yelling splits at me that I was in the lead. I just kept building from there and tried not to let it get into my head. That was enough to win the gold medal. This is for sure one of the best races that I have ever done.鈥�
Wilkie lost four fingers when her left hand was pulled into a jointer machine in her high school woodworking class. An ambulance, fire truck, search and rescue and a medevac helicopter was already on the scene by the time paramedics, who had to search the machine鈥檚 instruction manual to take it apart, freed her.
Less than two years later, at age 17, Wilkie had a spectacular Paralympic debut, winning a gold, silver and two bronze.
Hudak, from Prince Albert, Sask., captured her second Paralympic medal with bronze Monday.
Calgary鈥檚 Ramsay captured her second medal of the Paralympics, winning bronze in super combined, giving Canada 12 medals through three days of the Games.
Canada鈥檚 curling team鈥檚 three-game winning streak ended with a 6-3 loss to Sweden.
鈥擫ori Ewing, The Canadian Press
RELATED: 鈥業 just want to keep pushing boundaries鈥�: Greg Westlake proud of Paralympic career
