Davy Zyw ready to make history in Cortina

Lucky is not how Davy Zyw would have described his motor neurone disease diagnosis in 2018, but perspectives have changed for the snowboarder who is set to make history at the Winter Paralympics.

The 38-year-old from Edinburgh is set to become the first snowsport athlete with MND to compete at the Winter Paralympics at Milano Cortina 2026.

Now, he is looking to use his own platform from the Games to continue to raise awareness about the incurable life-shortening disease.

“I’ve got to say thanks to MND in a weird way - it’s like a tragic beauty,” he said.

“This incurable degenerative neurological disease has brought me back to my childhood dream of being a snowboarder.

“There’s a personal achievement there, the fact that I’ve qualified and I’m going to represent my country on the greatest stage. But the achievement isn’t mine.

“I never went out to do this for myself. It was for every poor soul who lives and battles every day with MND. It’s for the people who have lost loved ones to MND and for every person yet to be diagnosed.

“I feel a duty because I’m seven years in and yes, I have my own physical challenges, but I am one of the lucky ones. I can still get down a slope on my snowboard.

“I’ve got a responsibility to use my voice to raise the horizons for everyone who has been affected and it means the world that I can represent them in Cortina.”

Zyw first picked up a snowboard at the age of 12, when his granny would take him and his twin brother to the Hill End dry slope in Edinburgh.

That early practice resulted in Zyw earning sponsorship to compete in big air, slopestyle and rail competitions during his early 20s until a knee injury took him into the wine trade.

After his MND diagnosis age 30, however, Zyw returned to the circuit as a para snowboarder and having had his disability categorised as severe enough to compete in the SB-UL classification for athletes whose upper limb impairments affect balance, the Paralympic dream was on.

“After my diagnosis it gave me a lot of clarity of thought about what I want to do. Snowboarding, outside of spending time with my family, is one of my main passions in life,” he said.

“No one in winter sports with MND had been classified as a disabled athlete. I had this really weird scenario where I was in Landgraaf hoping I was going to be disabled enough to compete.

“I had this very conflicted stance. But when you drop in on a run, no one cares about what disability you have.

“Having a grounding as a freestyle snowboarder has definitely helped me but I’ve had to learn a lot. I’ve had to eat a lot of humble pie this year.”

There is a one in 300 risk of being diagnosed with MND across a lifetime, with average life expectancy from diagnosis typically two to three years.

Seven years on from his own diagnosis, Zyw has claimed podiums in banked slalom and snowboard cross, leading to an overall bronze in the season-long Europa Cup.

But when the finite nature of life has been brought into sharp focus, the sacrifice to achieve those results can be felt even more keenly.

“My son knows I go away competing on my snowboard, but he doesn’t know why. So sharing the news with him was very special,” said Zyw.

“Making the team will justify the sacrifice I have made and then I get to experience and share those lifelong memories in Italy.

“I’m so conscious that today is my best day, I’m only going one way. The fact that my son can see me compete on a world stage and rip down on my board, regardless of if I come first or last, I can’t even articulate the emotions wrapped up in there.”