A St. Cloud snowmobile motocross racer has captured a gold medal at the Winter X Games, coming out on top for the sixth time among fellow competitors who are either amputees or partly paralyzed.
Mike Schultz, 35, who lost his left leg above the knee in a 2008 snowmobile incident while racing, claimed gold on Thursday in Aspen, Colo.
Schultz engineered a prosthetic for his injured left leg and in 2010 started BioDapt. Inc., which helps athletes and wounded soldiers return to the athletic pursuits they love. "Two of my competitors in [the] final wear my equipment — the 'moto knee' and 'versa foot' — and are enjoying their sport again," he said.
Schultz, a member of the U.S. Paralympic Snowboard team, will compete next month in boardercross and banked slalom racing at the 2017 International Paralympic Committee World Para Snowboard Championships in British Columbia.
Paul Walsh
Top awards wrap up Sundance
A crime thriller, an unconventional love story, a documentary about Syria and a murder mystery were among the top award winners at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood film "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, presented Saturday night at a ceremony in Park City, Utah, as the annual film festival came to a close. The top award for a U.S. documentary went to "Dina," a love story between a suburban woman and a Wal-Mart greeter, while the world documentary prize was awarded to "Last Men in Aleppo." The world dramatic award went to "The Nile Hilton Incident," about a singer murdered in Cairo weeks before the 2011 revolution.
Producers give 'La La Land' top honor
"La La Land" claimed top honors at the 28th annual Producers Guild Awards Saturday night. The guild recognized the candy-colored musical with its Darryl F. Zanuck Award for theatrical motion picture production, a prize that often precedes the best picture Academy Award. But the guild's celebration at the Beverly Hilton Hotel of the year's outstanding film and TV productions had a decidedly political tone, as President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and visitors from several Muslim countries triggered protests nationwide. "Our America is big, it is free, and it is open to dreamers of all races, all countries, all religions," singer John Legend said as he introduced "La La Land," adding: "Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump. I want to specifically, tonight, reject his vision and affirm America has to be better than that."
Associated Press
