News Release
ACVB Salutes Alaska’s Paralympic Athlete
Anchorage, Alaska – Feb. 24, 2006 – Ten days after the Winter Olympic Games wrap up in Torino, Italy, another remarkable Alaska athlete will compete in one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. Thirty-seven year-old mono-skier Joe Tompkins of Juneau will test his mettle against other physically-challenged athletes in the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in Torino, Italy March 10 – 19. The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau is providing Alaska residents with a special opportunity to wish Tompkins well before he participates in the games.
“I would love to place in the top three in the downhill race and the top five in the Super G race,” said Tompkins. “That would be wonderful.”
Tompkins is no stranger to the Paralympic Games or to other international ski competitions. He placed 6th in the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City, both in the downhill and the Super- G racing. Two years later, he won gold in the Super-G at the Disabled World Cup event in Austria. In March 2005, he took the Downhill gold medal at the Disabled World Cup in Switzerland.
“I was smiling when I won, but it didn’t really sink in until afterwards,” Tompkins said.
Tompkins was a recreational skier before becoming paralyzed from a 1988 drunk driving car crash that left him without the use of his legs. After the crash, Tompkins says he became depressed and relied on alcohol and drugs for self-medication. When his son reached the age of two, he decided he wanted to become a better role model. He stopped using and started speaking to schoolchildren and young adults about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
“I was a wayward youth who liked living on the edge. For young people to see where I’ve been and that it’s possible to turn your life around means a lot more to me than winning a medal,” said Tompkins.
After the crash, Tompkins took up his favorite winter activity again as an arroya sled “sit skier” at the Eaglecrest Ski area in Juneau. In 1996, he enrolled in Winter Park’s disabled program in Colorado. He also took part in three mono-ski classes at Vail and became the first graduate to make the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. In 2000, Tompkins won the inaugural Disabled World Cup, a two run sprint downhill. Afterwards, he took home the gold in the World Cup in both Austria and Switzerland. Since then, he has become one of the most competitive Paralympic ski racers in the world. This will be the second time the 6-foot-five, 226 pound athlete is participating in the Paralympic Games.
“We use the same hill that the able-bodied Olympic athletes use,” Tompkins said.
In addition to his remarkable ski record, Tompkins is the founder of The Extreme Edge Foundation, an organization that supports and recruits current and aspiring athletes from around the world, including those with disabilities. He’s also a motivational speaker who addresses audiences at corporate sponsored events, school groups and organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Tompkins achievements and his spirit of determination are inspiring. The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) created a banner for Tompkins, saluting his achievements and wishing him well in the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games. Anyone wishing to sign it can do so by coming into ACVB’s Visitor Information Center behind the log cabin located at 524 W. 4th Ave. (facing F Street) on Tuesday, Feb.28th and Wednesday, March 1st from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m or by emailing messages to www.Anchorage.net/Joe. Those messages will appear on the banner. The ACVB will send the banner to his mother in Juneau before she leaves for Torino, Italy to watch her son participate in the Paralymic Games.
“I am definitely honored that people want to sign this,” Tompkins says. “It’s truly an honor to represent Alaska and the United States.”
For more information on Tompkins and his progress during the 2006 Paralympic Games, log onto his Web site at www.extremeedge.org.
The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau’s mission is to attract and serve visitors to the Municipality of Anchorage. ACVB’s marketing functions are funded by half of the bed tax collected by the lodging association. The other half goes to the Municipality’s general fund. ACVB receives no state or federal funds. For more information, explore www.Anchorage.net.
Media Contacts:
Laura Tanis
Public Relations Manager
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
ltanis@anchorage.net
(907) 257-2331 direct
(907) 250-5285 cell
(907) 222-3752 fax
Nance Larsen, APR
Vice President, Communications & Marketing Programs
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
nlarsen@anchorage.net
(907) 276-4118 direct
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