Vowing to "SvendIt" in honour of his late twin brother, the self-styled rock star of the Milan-Cortina Games and US para-alpine skier Patrick Halgren has broken through for his first Paralympics medal.
Halgren stole the show in Cortina as he clinched silver in the men's super-G standing race on Monday, trailing gold medallist Robin Cuche of Switzerland (1:12.12) by 0.98 seconds.
France's Jules Segers finished a further 1.47 seconds to claim bronze, as Australia's Michael Milton placed 23rd in his first Paralympics event in 20 years.
Halgren had already announced himself on the first day of competition, shouting "Did I win?" after crashing out of the men's downhill standing.
"I think they purposely put a banana peel down here and maybe I slipped," Halgren said on Monday.
His antics didn't stop in the super-G event, with the 33-year-old working the cameras at the finish line.
"I put the pedal to the floor until I see the chequered flag or God," Halgren said.
"The waves were pumping. It's tropical, you know? It reminds me of shooting the pier back at Malibu, just getting barrelled.
"Yeah, I am a rock star."
Halgren claimed his first medal at his second Paralympics, having lost his left leg above the knee in a motorcycle crash in 2013.
He was introduced to the sport by his twin Lucas - who went by Sven.
Sven was a volunteer at an adaptive sports program at Mount Snow in Vermont.
In 2016, Sven died in a motorcycle crash in New Zealand.
"I could either roll over and die, or I could become the greatest Patrick Halgren on earth, and that's what you're seeing," Halgren said.
"Ups and downs, so you aren't mediocre, like those grey twilights that know neither triumph nor defeat... or something like that."
Winning a medal isn't the only way Halgren is honouring his brother, leaving 'SvendIt' stickers all around Cortina.
"He (Sven) inspired me to live life, but life is fragile. You can die, you know?" Halgren said.
"I'm gonna have how many - who knows how many women and champagne after this.
"But it's like, he liked that too, but he doesn't get that, and I do.
"And I recognise that. I've died myself. I was in a coma for a month, I died four times, they used a defibrillator to start my heart, blood transfusion.
"I'm lucky that I have that, 'cause I know what it's like. Not many people do."
Asked of his antics as he waited for the event finish, Halgren said it had come out of feeling awkward.
"It was my first time, I didn't know what to do with my hands," Halgren said
"It was a little awkward. Almost embarrassing, but I've learned to be unirritable, unembarrassable.
"Because that's what it's about, it's about being vulnerable in this life. It's about failing. It's about trying things and failing.
"And it's okay to be embarrassed, it's okay to look weird. It's actually - to be No.1, you got to be a little odd.
"It's a maths joke. It's - okay, sorry. My horse is thirsty, I'm out."
AAP travelled to Cortina d'Ampezzo as a guest of Paralympics Australia.
