Diet and lifestyle help Nevada City athlete compete in Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi in March

Snowboarder Evan Strong of Nevada City has been invited to compete in the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, March 7-16.

The Strong family owns the The Fix for Foodies in downtown Nevada City, and Evan attributes his nearly unbelievable recovery to the combination of a live food diet and athletic drive.

“Evan’s personal experience of the healing qualities of this lifestyle occurred during the past seven years in his recovery from a devastating accident in which he was hit by a car head on while riding a motorcycle,” according to the Fix’s website. “This resulted in severe damage to his arm and leg and consequently the amputation of his left leg below the knee.”

Evan competes in the summer and winter X Games for skateboarding and snowboarding, bringing home the Gold at the Winter X Games Seventeen in Aspen Colorado.

He is well on his way to the Olympics after taking Gold at five World Cups in Orcières, France; Banff, Canada, and New Zealand in winter 2011. Evan took first at the World Championships in Orcieres, France, in winter 2012 and is now ranked #1 in the world, holding the title for World Champion in Para Boarder Cross Snowboarding.

STRONG SNOWBOARDER

U.S. Paralympics, a division of the U.S. Olympic Committee, announced Evan was one of 10 athlete nominated to the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Team to compete in the inaugural snowboard cross competition at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in March.

In May 2012, the International Paralympic Committee announced that men’s and women’s snowboard cross for athletes with lower-limb impairments would debut at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games as a part of the alpine skiing program.

“We have some of the best snowboarders in the world, and this group of 10 athletes is going to make history in Sochi,” said Kevin Jardine, high-performance director for U.S. Paralympics alpine skiing and snowboarding. “The common thread that runs throughout this team is just how dedicated and passionate they are. It is going to be an honor to work with this team in Sochi.”

The U.S. enters the Games with three of the top-ranked men in the world, with Evan (Nevada City) and Mike Shea (Castaic, Calif.) sharing the current No. 1 spot on the IPC world rankings, and Keith Gabel (Ogden, Utah) is tied for third with Carl Murphy of New Zealand.

The men’s and women’s snowboard events will be held on March 14. Paralympic snowboarders compete in snowboard cross, an event where athletes race one-at-a-time down a course with features including turns, drops and berms.

Each athlete completes three runs of the course with the combined time of their best two runs determining the final winner based on time.

The USOC and NBC Olympics have partnered to provide an unprecedented level of coverage for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. NBC and NBC Sports Network will combine to air 50 hours of television, starting on March 7 with the Opening Ceremony.

Evan, along with his wife, Mariah, and sisters Arianna and Stephanie opened The Fix in summer 2009, with a vision of creating a whole-food vegetarian dining experience in Nevada City.

We are regulars at the Fix. The menu is here. One example: “The Strongwich – Two slices of sprouted bread supporting layers of Brazil nut pesto, olive-mushroom tapenade, raw sharp cheddar, avocado, home-made sauerkraut, nutritional yeast, & dulse flakes. A local classic. Served with a side-salad.”

—The Fix and International Paralympic Committee

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