St. Pete native wins historic gold medal during Paralympic Games
August 30, 2021 - St. Petersburg native Brad Snyder took home the gold medal Saturday during the men’s PTVI (visually impaired) triathlon at the Tokyo Paralympics. Snyder and guide Greg Billington – a 2016 Olympian, led the race from start to finish and crossed the line in 1:01:16, nearly a minute ahead of Spain’s Hector Catala Laparra. Snyder, a Navy Veteran, was blinded when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2011. He became the first U.S. man to medal in a paratriathlon and the first visually-impaired man to medal in the sport. Snyder won gold in his first Paralympic contest in swimming nine years ago and has now won his first triathlon event. He is now eight for eight, medaling in every Paralympic event he has entered.