For Veterans-Turned-Sit Skiers Dan Cnossen And Josh Sweeney, Life Is A Journey Of Self-Discovery

Dan Cnossen and Josh Sweeney have much in common. 

The two military veterans were injured only a month apart when they each stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) while serving in Afghanistan in the fall of 2009. Cnossen was a lieutenant commander in the Navy SEALs at the time, while Sweeney was a sergeant and scout sniper in the U.S Marine Corps. 

Both men earned a Purple Heart for their service in combat, but their similarities extend well beyond those moments that led each of them to eventually take up Nordic sit skiing. They also share a similar view of life. They’re constantly looking for new ways to test themselves and push their bodies to their limits — both in the offseason and on snow. 

“I just love competing, whether it’s against other people or myself and doing challenges that I don’t know if I can actually accomplish,” Sweeney said. 

Cnossen, 45, and Sweeney, 38, have each won Paralympic gold medals, and they could get an opportunity to win more at the Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 in March. But personal accolades don’t motivate them to continue training and competing as sit skiers. 

Instead, they’re each on a lifelong journey for self-discovery. 

As the country honors Veterans Day on Tuesday, it will be business as usual for Cnossen and Sweeney, the two veterans on the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing national and development teams. 

“For anybody that goes into the military, there is a bit of a sacrifice. And for many, it’s a really good deal,” Cnossen, a seven-time Paralympic medalist in cross-country skiing and biathlon, told USParaNordic.org back in 2021. “I was one of those who felt like I was just getting a really good deal to be in the community that I was in, that I was able to get through the training and meet the friends that I got to meet and be part of that team. 

“That I was a part of that, for me, just seems very fortunate. I’m not one who is seeking out the ‘Thank you for your service,’ which tends to be something that a lot of people say.” 

Cnossen said he knew from an early age that he wanted to serve in the military like his grandfather, a World War II veteran, and his father, who did three tours in the Vietnam War as a Marine. He read books about war and life in the military as a kid, and he enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy after graduating from high school. 

As a Navy SEAL, Cnossen was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. One night in September of 2009, he was serving as a platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED and lost both of his legs just above the knee. 

In addition to receiving the Purple Heart, Cnossen was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor. 

Only four months after getting injured in Afghanistan and while still rehabilitating, Cnossen signed up to compete in a half-marathon — despite not training for it. Former First Lady Michelle Obama was so impressed she shared the story about Cnossen finishing the half-marathon on his handcycle during an event at the White House.

The three-time Paralympian admitted he gravitates toward challenges, especially ones that test his endurance, mental toughness and ability to overcome pain and discomfort.

In 2023, Cnossen completed the grueling Birkebeinerrennet race, in which cross-country skiers cover 54 kilometers — or 33.5 miles — of the Norwegian countryside while carrying a backpack weighing at least 7.7 pounds. A few months later, he shared his inspirational story as a former Navy SEAL on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” 

“I do think you learn a lot about yourself when you do push yourself to the limit, and in chosen situations like choosing to do a marathon or a 5K or in this case a ski marathon (the Birkebeinerrennet), it’s a different kind of situation than the unchosen suffering,” Cnossen said.  

In October of 2009, only days after Cnossen was injured in combat, Sweeney also stepped on an IED while serving in Nowzad, Afghanistan. He was in his early 20s at the time. 

While he was recovering at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, a physical therapist who knew that Sweeney had played hockey when he was younger suggested he try sled hockey. 

Sweeney attended a practice and immediately fell in love with it. He was eventually named to the U.S. national sled hockey team, and a little more than four years after getting injured in Afghanistan, he scored the game-winning goal send Team USA past Russia in the gold-medal game of the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. 

“I do the things that I do to just get better. I don’t aim for certain achievements,” Sweeney said years later. “I just do stuff to try to see how far I can push myself, and so it was really cool to finally come around to being able to go to the Paralympics after 3.5 years of playing and then winning a gold medal.” 

Sweeney retired from sled hockey after having his appendix removed during the 2018-19 season. Wanting to continue pushing himself, he started competing in triathlons and then Para Nordic skiing. 

Sit skiing felt natural for him because of his background in sled hockey, and his training as a sniper made it so he had no trouble hitting targets during the shooting portion of the biathlon. He made his Paralympic debut as a sit skier at the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics, and he hopes to qualify in the biathlon in Milano Cortina. 

Alex Abrams has written about Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a freelance contributor to USParaNordic.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.