Edinburgh based snowboarder Matt Hamilton is getting ready to make his Paralympic debut this weekend, a dream 14 years in making that was nearly taken away from him after a crash on the slopes in December.
As a child Matt found being involved in sport and physical activity difficult. Matt was born with Erb’s Palsy, a nerve injury that results in weakness or sometimes paralysis in an individual’s arm. In a tale that is all too common, other pupil’s behaviour towards really impacted his confidence to take part in sport.
It was only when his mum took him to the London 2012 Paralympic Games that Matt realised what could be possible.
This lack of involvement throughout his youth, knocked his confidence, he said:
“When you have other children who aren’t very nice, it really knocks your sense of self-worth, it made it harder to believe in myself.”
Following London 2012, Matt had a dream. To be just like the hundreds of Paralympians that he saw competing in their respective sports and showing the world what was possible. With Matt showing his newfound desire to be involved in sport, Matt’s mum grasped at it, searching for any possible way for him to take part.
At the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games, Matt will be competing on the snow in the Upper Limb (UL) Banked Slalom competition. Although, it hasn’t always been winter sports for Matt, initially competing in athletics and cycling.
Matt had an incredibly impressive junior career in athletics, competing internationally, winning a 400m silver medal in his maiden international athletics competition.
Looking back, Matt is incredibly proud of his junior career in both athletics and cycling;
“I have got records in track cycling that are still standing to this day, so it is cool to see my name in pages alongside the likes of Chris Hoy and other incredible athletes.”
Unfortunately for Matt, the dream of competing in a Summer Paralympic Games didn’t come to fruition. However, since making the decision to concentrate on snowboarding, the Edinburgh based athlete had been getting closer to making his dream come true. A dream that was called in to question at the cruelest of times, when he was wiped out in a crash at a training camp in December 2025.
The sportscotland institute of sport, supported his recovery: “In December I had a crash at a training camp, and the cartilage that attaches the rib to the sternum completely tore, and that was a pretty tough time for me, we are now about eight weeks after the incident and there was a lot of care and rehab from the team.”
Throughout his journey, Matt has been working closely with sportscotland institute of sport Senior Physical Preparation Coach, John Coogans. After his crash and subsequent injury, Matt had a consultation with John and Kelly Horne, a sportscotland physiotherapist where they mapped out Matt’s route back to competing.
John explained that one of the main considerations with the injury was making sure not to rush anything, taking time to make sure that Matt returned back to full fitness:
“There was a lot of consideration as we went through the process, as if you over stimulate the injury, it can be a one step forward and two steps back situation.
"With the timelines being so tight, and the injury being so close to the Winter Paralympic Games, Matt was great at giving everything consideration and not trying to work too hard.”
This reassurance and rehabilitation plan ultimately got Matt back in a position to compete “They really helped me bounce back, and stopped me from trying to do things a little too quick, especially with a Winter Games here it’s quite easy for anyone to want to make themselves recover as quick as possible. But sometimes it is best to slow down so that you can get better in the best time possible.”
At the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games Matt will be competing in the UL classification. A competition that he qualifies for, due to being born with Erb’s Palsy, a nerve injury that gives Matt weakness and sometimes paralysis in his right arm.
John explained some of the different training methods that sportscotland institute of sport utilised to help Matt throughout his training: “We have used some bespoke tools in order to enhance Matt’s grip, we did the same with Davy Zyw who has MND, to help get the maximum load through, get everything extended and a full range of movements on Matt’s right hand side.”
