Taylor Lipsett

Sport: Sled Hockey
Residence: Mesquite, TX

Taylor Lipsett was born and raised in Mesquite, TX. He grew up battling a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bones. Throughout his life he has broken over 90 bones. But this has not stopped his excellence in sports, most notably sled hockey. He started playing sled hockey in 2002 with the Dallas Stars sled hockey club after being introduced to the sport by fellow Paralympian Lonnie Hannah. Now, at just 20, Lipsett has been a member of two medal-winning U.S. sled hockey teams. In 2004, he was called to play on the U.S. World Championships Team and won a silver medal. In 2006, Lipsett won a bronze medal in his first trip to the Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

Taylor made the most of his opportunities in Torino. He had only three shot attempts in five games, but two of those three shots found the net, including the game-winning goal against Sweden. His other goal came on the power play in the bronze medal game against Germany, a game in which Lipsett also assisted on the medal-winning goal.

Lipsett is currently a sophomore at Southern Methodist University, where he is majoring in business finance at SMU's, nationally ranked Cox School of Business. Once he finishes school, he plans to work in investment banking. Between the continual development of his game and getting into finance, there is not much time left in his schedule; “School and hockey are what I do,” Lipsett said.

Right now, Taylor is training for the 2008 World Championships, which will allow Team USA to qualify for the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver. He hopes to step up and lead his team to victory over the next few years as they grow into a gold medal team leading to Vancouver 2010.

Lipsett works closely with The Hartford, founding sponsor of U.S. Paralympics®, helping to positively change attitudes and perceptions about disability.