Santa Barbara Snowboarder Competing in Paralympics

Remember the final act of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, when he said, “God bless America,” and was followed by a diverse parade of flag-bearers, signifying that America extends through numerous Central and South American countries?

Dozens of Santa Barbara citizens showed they have taken that message to heart when they gathered to send Andre Barbieri off to the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games with well wishes and contributions.

“It’s awesome,” Barbieri said. “We’re in the U.S., and you guys are supporting a Brazilian athlete.”

Barbieri, 44, is indeed a native of Brazil, hence qualified for that country’s Olympic teams, but he also represents Santa Barbara, his home since 2007, where he and his wife, Karina, are raising two children.

His path to the Paralympics began on March 11, 2011 — a date he has since deemed his “ampuversary” — when he suffered a horrific injury while snowboarding in the Mammoth ski area. The accident that destroyed Barbieri’s left leg above the knee and his subsequent recovery were detailed in the Independent cover story on February 10, 2022, before he went off to the Paralympic Games in Beijing.

He will be competing this month at the Cortina Para Snowboard Park not far from the downhill slope where U.S. superstar Lindsey Vonn sustained a catastrophic injury last month during the Winter Olympics. Vonn revealed that her lower left leg almost had to be amputated because of complications following the fracture of her tibia. The trauma from Barbieri’s fractured femur and ruptured femoral artery rendered his leg beyond saving.

Vonn received some criticism for choosing to compete not long after she ruptured an ACL, but Barbieri does not believe that contributed to her crash, which was triggered when she clipped a gate. Careening down a slope at 70 mph is inherently risky.

“I’ve seen other athletes that did fine without an ACL,” Barbieri wrote in a text. “I believe she was so strong and believed in her thigh muscles so much that she’d do well. Hats off for her attitude. What a legend!”

It takes a fearless attitude to perform in any sport against the best athletes throughout the world. Barbieri also had to cope with fear — more his family’s than his own — to begin snowboarding with a prosthetic leg.

“I always loved snowboarding and surfing,” he said. “No one was super excited about me going back to the snow where I lost my leg. I knew it would be rough on my family more than me.”

A special prosthetic with shock absorbers enabled Barbieri to race at a high enough level to qualify for Beijing. But those Paralympics were difficult, he said, coming in the aftermath of the COVID epidemic. The high point for him was being chosen to bear Brazil’s flag at the closing ceremonies.

“You can’t tell [on a TV screen], but I was crying; it was so emotional,” he said.

Despite his experience going into a second Paralympics, Barbieri said, “I always feel like the underdog, like Cool Runnings [the movie about the Jamaican bobsledders]. The guys who race against me have more access to the snow. They can train 200 days a year.” Also, athletes with congenital disabilities have had a lifetime to learn about their bodies.

At great expense, Barbieri’s family is traveling to Italy, including his brother Diego, who likely saved Andre’s life by summoning help after his accident. “None of them have seen me competing in person,” he said. He credited Karina and their daughters, Stella and Maile, for “holding down the fort — work, school. The Olympic medal, if I ever get one, is all theirs.”

He will compete in two events: the snowboard cross (Mar. 7-8), a roller-derby-like race with multiple contestants on the same run; and banked slalom (Mar. 14), solo runs down a bumpy course.

Barbieri’s Santa Barbara sendoff party drew a crowd to a pizza parlor on a rainy night. They signed a poster that told him, in the Brazilian-Portuguese language, to be strong: “Força, Andre!”

THE MENTOR:  When Pat Riley’s statue was unveiled at Crypto.com Arena, I could imagine another statue — that of Bill Bertka — seated next to the imperious form of Riley, the coach who led the Los Angeles Lakers to four NBA championships in the 1980s. Bertka was Riley’s top assistant throughout the “Showtime” years of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, et al.

At 97 years old, Bertka no longer commutes weekly from his Santa Barbara home to work in the Lakers offices. He got a ride from his daughter to attend the February 22 reunion of L.A. legends.

Riley was effusive in his praise of Bertka, calling him “my main man” and “my greatest mentor.” Their relationship started in 1970 when Riley was a reserve guard and Bertka an assistant to Bill Sharman. “Bertka got me in shape to make the team,” he said, and Riley played a role in the Lakers’ 1972 title.

Bertka’s life as a Santa Barbara recreation director and longtime coach, scout, and consultant for the Lakers was the subject of an Independent cover story on October 25, 2018.

THE NEXT STEP:  The U.S. Women’s National Team that slammed Chile 5-0 at UCSB on January 27 was very young but nonetheless impressive. They showed mastery of two key soccer skills: receiving a pass and maintaining control of the ball. Several veterans will rejoin the team at this week’s SheBelieves Cup, wrapping up with a match against Colombia on Saturday, March 7. Coach Emma Hayes has retained 11 of the women who played at UCSB on the new roster, including, of course, Trinity Rodman. 

GAUCHOS GO INTERNATIONAL:  Two former UCSB baseball stars will be on the coaching staff of Team U.S.A. at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Skip Schumaker, the manager of the Texas Rangers, will serve as bench coach, while Michael Young, a former Rangers All-Star who works in the front office, will be assistant manager. The WBC runs from March 5-17.