Swimsuit

5 Inspiring Photos of Snowboarder Brenna Huckaby in Aruba

The three-time Paralympic gold medalist was featured in the 2018 SI Swimsuit Issue.

Cara O’Bleness

Brenna Huckaby

Brenna Huckaby was photographed by James Macari in Aruba.

Professional snowboarder Brenna Huckaby made history when she was the first Paralympian to be featured in SI Swimsuit in 2018. The athlete traveled to Aruba, where she posed for photographer James Macari.

Huckaby was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma when she was young, which led to the amputation of her right leg above the knee at the age of 14. When snowboarding became part of her rehabilitation exercises, she quickly fell in love with the sport.

A three-time Paralympic gold medalist, Huckaby has faced adversity head-on throughout her career as a professional athlete. After being eliminated from the event’s LL1 event classifications (where she typically participates), Huckaby fought for her right to compete in the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games last year. In order to compete, she ended up joining a more difficult classification and was the only above-the-knee amputee woman on the track. Huckaby ultimately took home a bronze medal.

“I never even thought about a woman with an amputation or whatever the case may be... in Sports Illustrated,” Huckaby said at the time of her magazine feature. “So I’m just overwhelmed, I think, with such positive emotion over it, because I knew this day would come, but I didn’t think that I would be the one to make this day happen.”

The 27-year-old is a mom of two children and also works as a life coach. She regularly posts motivational content on Instagram, where she shares her thought-provoking messaging on topics like body positivity and mental health.

Huckaby is an inspiration not only in her sport, but as a human being. Below are five of the most impactful images from her SI Swimsuit photo shoot in Aruba.

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Published
Cara O’Bleness

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Cara loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism.