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Utah Paralympic snowboarder Brenna Huckaby dedicates first Pyeongchang gold medal to her daughter

Ogden’s Keith Gabel wins silver in his second Paralympics.

Brenna Huckaby of United States competes in the Snowboard event of the 2018 Winter Paralympics at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre in South Korea, Monday, March 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Millcreek snowboarder Brenna Huckaby knows her 2-year-old daughter is too young now to understand what it all means. Still, Huckaby hopes one day her little girl will see her mother’s races at the Pyeongchang Paralympics as a lesson in perseverance.

And, as of Monday, it’s a lesson lined with gold.

Huckaby, 22, kicked off her first Paralympic Games with a gold medal in the women’s snowboard-cross.

“It’s incredible,” Huckaby said. “In the start gate I said to myself, ‘For Lilah,’ because that is one of the main reasons … and pushing through trying times to show her that she can do anything she wants. It was hard today but I just reminded myself why I do this and it’s for her and that helped.”

Huckaby, who had her right leg amputated after being diagnosed with cancer as a teenager, is competing in her first Paralympics.

“It was such a trying and intense day and to be able to walk away successful is huge,” she said.

Winners of the Women's Snowboard Cross SB-LL1 event from left silver medalist Amy Purdy of United States, gold medalist Brenna Huckaby of United States and bronze medalist Cecile Hernandez of France pose for photos during a ceremony at the 2018 Winter Paralympics at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre in South Korea, Monday, March 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Ogden’s Keith Gabel won a silver medal in the men’s snowboard-cross event. Gabel, who lost his foot as the result of an industrial accident, is competing in his second Paralympics.

“It was intense,” he said. “There’s a lot going on up top, a lot going on that we really didn’t have that much control over — a lot of hurry up and wait. But that’s kind of typical of competitions. The right things go wrong, there’s stuff you can control, things you can’t, so I try not to focus on the stuff that I can’t. I try to go out there and have a good time.”

In total, Team USA won six Paralympic snowboarding medals Monday.

TEAM USA PARALYMPIC SNOWBOARD-CROSS RESULTS<br>First • Brenna Huckaby, Salt Lake City, women’s LL1; Mike Schultz, St. Cloud, Minn., men’s LL1<br>Second • Keith Gabel, Ogden, men’s LL2; Amy Purdy, Silverthorne, Colo., women’s LL1<br>Third • Noah Elliott, St. Louis, men’s LL1; Mike Minor, Waymart, Penn., men’s UL<br>Fourth • Evan Strong, Maui, Hawaii, men’s LL2