Donna Vano – Action Sports Legend

In

Donna Vano is an action sports legend, a two-time cancer survivor, and a grandmother who still competes on top of it all. She is the queen of extreme — a pioneer in snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing and skiing.

The 56-year-old currently holds three Guinness World Records – she’s the oldest inline vert skater in the world; she holds the most gold medals in U.S. Snowboarding Association in all five disciplines; and she’s the oldest female amateur snowboarder competing in pro tours in the Super Pipe.

She recently won all nine events in the 50-59 age group at the U.S. Snowboard National Championships.

Donna says she started skateboarding before skateboards were even invented, so made her own board out of a pair of roller skates.

She has pioneered female surfing, skateboarding and blading, but her achievements haven’t come without injuries. She’s had 8 broken arms, blew her ACL, has a plate in her arm, three metal rods in her tibia/fibula and she badly injured her shoulder while training some young skateboarders.

And she’s a two-time ovarian cancer survivor.

Donna is a force of life. She designs hand-crocheted beanies, with a percentage of all profits going to cancer research. She also hangs with some of the biggest extreme sports stars on Earth, including Tony Hawk and Shaun White.