Paralympic athlete Jesse Keefe, who first competed at the Winter Games in 2022 at age 17, is preparing for another appearance at the upcoming Milano Cortina Games. Keefe, a patient of Shriners Children’s Salt Lake City, attributes much of his athletic progress to the support and resources provided by the nonprofit healthcare system.
Keefe specializes in para alpine skiing, competing in events such as slalom, giant slalom, super-G, and downhill. While Team USA has not yet officially announced its roster for the Paralympics, Keefe currently holds the top position in both slalom and super combined events.
“There’s an incredible difference in my skiing when I look back at video from Beijing to now,” Keefe said.
“My skiing then was not pretty. My strength has increased tremendously, and my technique is cleaner now. Just to show you how much my strength has improved, in 2022, I was proud to deadlift 200 pounds. Now, I’m hitting 450 pounds on deadlift,” said Jesse. “During the Beijing Games, I was really compensating with my upper body while competing. Now it’s all lower body, and my upper body is really clean and stable. Clean is fast.”
Born without an ankle bone in his right leg, Keefe underwent a foot amputation as an infant. He began receiving care from Shriners Children’s at age 10. During his treatment there, his prosthetist encouraged him to try new devices and created specialized prosthetic legs for skiing. Keefe also participated in Shriners Children’s Un-Limb-ited Camps where he met other children with physical differences and connected with para coaches and athletes.
“Although I already skied at the time, I didn’t know para competition was a thing before the Un-Limb-ited Camps. The camps were a gateway to meeting para coaches and other para skiers, eventually helping me get to the national team,” Jesse said. “My Shriners Children’s prosthetist, Eric, really encouraged me to try new ski legs and a knee brace. I also worked with patient alumnus Santiago Vega, who was a Paralympic skier, too. Shriners Children’s helped me in so many different aspects of my career.”
Keefe’s medical care included surgery performed by Kristen Carroll, M.D., to close his growth plates.
“Dr. Carroll is like a saint to me,” Jesse said. “She is my saving grace. I can’t even put into words what she did for me. Throughout my care at Shriners Children’s, she advocated for me, encouraged me to try new things and helped me so much as my surgeon.”
Shriners Children’s Salt Lake City has supported several Paralympians over the years including Hunter Woodhall and Dani Aravich. Nearly 20 former or current patients took part in the 2024 Summer Paralympics; 11 of them won medals.
“I don’t see any other healthcare system doing what Shriners Children’s is doing,” Jesse said. “It makes sense they’re pumping out hyper-confident, elite athletes. They provide the space for us to evolve. They give us the resources and show us we can use them to our full potential.”
