New Fordham flash
Snowboarder, a city native, keeps eye on Paralympics prize
Patrick DeCrescenzo, his left side paralyzed by a stroke at birth, plans to ride his snowboard from Brooklyn to Beijing.
The Fordham University junior, undaunted by the pandemic’s impact on his training, remains focused on capturing a spot on the U.S. Paralympic team and vying for a medal on the slopes of China when the games begin on March 4, 2022.
“I’ve always felt like an athlete,” the 21-year-old explained to the Daily News. “As I got a little older, it became difficult to channel that. I was left behind by some of my peers. And snowboarding helped me almost solve that.”
The Brooklyn native’s Olympic aspirations date to 2014, when he watched the first Paralympic snowboarding competition at the Sochi Games on television.
“I thought, ‘I want to do this one day,’ ” recalled DeCrescenzo, whose disability is known as hemiplegia. ‘“The moment inspired me to pursue this.”
And there he was two years later, standing on his snowboard in the Netherlands for his first international race.
“I’ll never forget coming down, seeing my name on the big screen with the American flag,” he remembered. “I thought, ‘Wow. That’s what this looks like. I’m going to do this.’ ”
DeCrescenzo had to overcome more than his disability. His hometown, safe to say, is hardly the epicenter of Olympic winter sports. The highest point in his native borough rises just 220 feet — inside Green-Wood Cemetery.
And his distinctive New York accent remains a source of amusement among his fellow athletes.
“My teammates and competitors love to do their best impressions of what I sound like,” said DeCrescenzo. “Some say the only time they’ve heard people talk like me is in movies or TV shows.”
The communications major acknowledges that balancing a dream with his studies remains an often tricky task. With the games now less than a year off, he’s intent on getting enough practice time to reach an elite level at his sport while keeping his grades up.
“I think I’ve gotten better at it,” the upbeat young athlete said. “In high school, especially, it was really hard. In college, I’ve almost figured out the balance of how to handle it. Homework on a plane, keeping the lines of communication open with my professors.”
DeCrescenzo puts his family first and foremost for fostering his career on the slopes.
“They are definitely my biggest fans, my parents and my sister,” he said. “I really credit all this to my parents.”
His preparation for next year’s competition will, for now, prioritize off-snow training in the gym. He’s hoping for a return to the slopes of Utah to train with his team later this year as the opening ceremonies approach.
But DeCrescenzo was recently reminded during a ride on a Lake Tahoe ski lift that his quest is bigger than any single event.
He headed up the mountain on a lift with a man who explained that his daughter was also left-side hemaplegic. When they reached the top, the man asked the young snowboarder for a photo to inspire his girl. DeCrescenzo was thrilled to oblige.
“I was like, ‘This is what I really want to do,’ ” he recalled. “No matter how frustrating things get, I have a connection with other people. I want them to do whatever they want, whatever they dream of.
“That is what I do this for. For that moment.”