Nicole Roundy: My three heroes

US athlete Nicole Roundy was the first above the knee amputee to compete in adaptive snowboarding and is one of the best riders in the world.

She is a multiple podium finisher in IPC Snowboard World Cups and finished 8th at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games.

Roundy recently won two snowboard-cross World Cup races in Aspen, USA, and three podium finishes in snowboard-cross and banked slalom in Big White, Canada.

Here are Roundy’s three heroes and why, in her own words.

1. Amelia Earhart: (US aviation pioneer and author)

During an attempt to make a circumnavigation flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island.

“She was strong, ambitious and died doing what she loved”.

2. Maya Angelou: (US author, poet and civil rights activist)

“She encouraged people to take life by the lapels, to face hardships positively. She took life head on and never gave up.”

3. Billie Jean King: (US former World No. 1 tennis player, winner of 39 Grand Slams)

“For bringing attention and respect to women in sports and making professional sport careers a reality for women around the world.”