Brenna Huckaby reacts to winning fifth Paralympic medal, talks reaching goals with Hershey’s

Brenna Huckaby won a bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milano Cortina, which was a surprise for her despite having won four medals in the last two Paralympics. On3 recently spoke to the 30-year-old snowboarder, and she shared her reaction to winning her fifth Paralympic medal.

“I knew that a medal was going to be very hard for me,” Brenna Huckaby told On3. “I’m the only above-the-knee amputee woman snowboarding, so I’m at a pretty significant disadvantage when it comes to getting on the podium. Both days, I won qualifiers, which doesn’t mean anything medal-wise, but it does tell you through Snowboard Cross that you’re still very competitive. So that was a big surprise for me.”

Huckaby continued, “To then carry that strong riding into Bank Slalom and have two really strong runs, I’m not surprised at my snowboarding, but I am surprised at where my snowboarding landed me on the podium because I didn’t know if I could do it. And so, I was really surprised and just grateful that I walked away with a medal.”

Huckaby competed in two events this year. Along with finishing third in the banked slalom, Huckaby finished sixth in the snowboard cross. The Louisiana native is the most decorated U.S. snowboarder in Paralympic history.

Brenna Huckaby enjoyed her time at the 2026 Winter Paralympics

And while she didn’t have as much success as she did in the 2018 and 2022 Paralympics, Huckaby enjoyed the 2026 Games more than the previous two. “I think in a lot of ways, because I released a lot of the pressure that I had carried at other Games, it really felt like just another event, one that I got to be with my family at. I would say I was in the moment more, and it was easy to walk away,” she said. “You hear a lot about the post-Olympic, post-Paralympic blues and how you have so many highs, and then there’s so much attention, and then it crashes after.

“I haven’t found that to be the case for me this Games, and I think a lot of it was because I’ve been in the moment, released a lot of that pressure, just kind of gone with the flow of what happens. That isn’t any different than what I’ve been trying to do in my regular life. Yeah, I think I had a lot more fun, but mostly just because I wasn’t stressed. I was just in the moment.”

During the Paralympics, Huckaby partnered with Hershey’s for its “Hershey’s. It’s Your Happy Place campaign.” Huckaby was one of the Winter Paralympic and Olympic athletes who shared her story of finding happiness beyond the podium.