Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Marine veteran Annika Hutsler moved to Utah to pursue the U.S. Alpine Ski Team.
- After losing her leg, she embraced adaptive sports and aims for the Paralympics.
- Hutsler hopes to raise awareness of veteran suicide through her athletic platform.
SALT LAKE CITY — On any given day, you can find people at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City working to stay in shape. Annika Hutsler is one of them.
However, her motivation goes far beyond burning calories.
"2026 is a very big goal for me, and I'm hopeful, but I'm also realistic," Hutsler said.
Hutsler, who recently moved to Utah, believes it is the best place to train for her dream of making the U.S. Alpine Ski Team.
"There is nowhere else where you can be living in the city and so close to so many mountains," she explained.
After what she has been through, nobody is betting against her.
During Marine Corps boot camp in 2017, Hutsler experienced unusual pain in her foot. Doctors discovered a tumor that eventually led to the amputation of her right leg below the knee in 2019. Rather than letting the setback define her, Hutsler used it as a turning point.
She embraced adaptive sports as part of her recovery, participating in competitions like the Warrior Games and Invictus Games in events such as track, field and wheelchair rugby.
"I grew up not really playing sports, so this wasn't a lifelong dream or anything," Hutsler said. "But when I lost my leg, that really gave me the motivation to go out and do things, to do amazing things."
Now her dream is to become a Paralympian and represent the United States once again as an alpine ski racer.
"It's still really cool to have this opportunity to represent my country, just in a very different way," she said.
For Hutsler, competing in the Paralympics would mean she is one of the best of the best.
It also means a lot to her to be a veteran, and she hopes her story will help other veterans going through similar circumstances.
"I'm also grateful to also work with Semper Fi & America's Fund because they do a really great job of preventing the 22 a day," she said. "As most people know, 22 veterans commit suicide every day and they really work on trying to prevent that. One of the best ways to do that is getting people out and doing sports or doing things they love around other people."
Hutsler feels becoming a Paralympian will give her an even bigger platform to spread that mission and raise awareness of veteran suicide.
While the 2026 Paralympics in Italy is her goal, she admits that will be tough with about a year left until those Games.
She thinks she has a better shot at the 2030 Games in France, with a definite spot on the team for 2034 in Salt Lake City.
"I will compete in the 2034 Salt Lake City Paralympics," she said. "To compete on my home turf and represent my country, there is no other dream I would rather have."
