COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Noah Elliott's journey from teenage skateboarder to Paralympic champion reads like a Hollywood script.
Still, the 28-year-old athlete's story is grounded in real adversity, determination, and an unwavering spirit that has carried him through cancer, amputation, and back to the top of the podium.
The Missouri native, now living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, discovered his love for action sports early, falling head over heels for skateboarding by age 10. By 15, he was already a semi-professional with dreams of going pro. But life had other plans.
"I was 15. I was a semi-professional skateboarder, and my daughter was born, so I became a teen father at the age of 15," Elliott said. "I knew that skateboarding was going to have to hopefully pan out and pay the bills for a couple of years."
As he pursued his professional skateboarding dreams, Elliott began experiencing pain in his left leg. What he initially thought was an ACL tear turned out to be something far more serious.
"Next thing you know, they're putting up my X-ray on a doctor's screen, and they're telling me that I have a tumor on my leg and they think it's osteosarcoma bone cancer," Elliott said. "My life just totally went for a big whirlwind."
The cancer diagnosis meant multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and the end of his skateboarding career. Elliott faced the possibility that everything he had worked for was gone.
"I lost kind of everything at that point and had to rediscover who I was if I was gonna survive cancer," Elliott said.
It was during his hospital stay in 2014 that a nurse introduced Elliott to something that would change his life forever. While receiving chemotherapy, she turned on the Sochi Paralympics, giving Elliott his first glimpse of Paralympic snowboarding.
"It was inspiring and captivating, and it was something I thought would be so cool to try one day," Elliott said.
That inspiration became reality. Elliott not only survived cancer but also decided to amputate his leg. The amputation allowed for a greater range of motion, so Elliott could make the transition from skateboarding to snowboarding. His natural athletic ability and determination propelled him to the highest levels of Paralympic competition.
At the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Korea, Elliott shocked even himself by winning gold and bronze medals in his debut Games.
"To walk away from my first with an actual win was just insane," Elliott said. "It was exciting to be on top of the course in the Paralympics in Korea and being able to come across the finish line in first place. I mean, it was incredible."
But Elliott's path to the 2022 Beijing Paralympics proved challenging. A persistent wound infection on his amputation site threatened to derail his second Olympic appearance entirely.
"My femur bone actually was protruding out of my leg about a half an inch," Elliott said.
Through determination and the help of medical specialists, Elliott found a way to compete despite the injury.
"I competed with my femur bone sticking out of my leg in China," Elliott said. "I couldn't wear my leg until the race day. I got like one lap on it, but it was the most freeing feeling, even though it hurt just to go from on crutches to putting on my leg and snowboarding just as fast as I could."
Now, Elliott is calling the upcoming 2026 Winter Paralympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, his "redemption games." After surgery and recovery, he says his leg has never looked better.
"I'm healthier and stronger than ever," Elliott said. "My leg has never looked better, and so I'm really, really excited for this season coming up here."
Elliott has qualified for banked slalom, his strongest event.
He'll have family support in Italy, including his daughter, mother, and girlfriend, cheering him on.
Beyond his athletic achievements, Elliott has embraced his role as an inspiration to others facing similar challenges. He regularly visits hospitals and works with cancer organizations, sharing his story of survival and success.
"I get to be a light of hope for others, and help show that there can be a life past cancer," Elliott said. "You don't have to have life feel like it's over for you, and there can be other things that you can fall in love with and enjoy."
As Elliott prepares for what he hopes will be his most successful Paralympics yet, he carries with him the lessons learned from skateboarding, cancer survival, and years of competition at the highest level.
"It's finally that moment, it's the moment I've been waiting for, and it's there for me to take," Elliott said.