Erna Friðriksdóttir, born November 2, 1987, is an Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic alpine skier

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

. She competes in Paralympic alpine skiing

Paralympic alpine skiing

Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. Paralympic alpine skiing is one of the sports in the Paralympic Winter Games...

, in the sitting category, using a monoski

Monoski

The term monoski may refer to either of two unrelated pieces of ski equipment. It is the device used in the sport of monoskiing.The monoski, invented in the 1960s and popularized in the 1970s and '80s by monoskiers like Mike Doyle, is similar to a snowboard in that both feet are attached to one...

.

She qualified to represent Iceland

Iceland at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

Iceland sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Paralympics, in Vancouver, Canada. The country thus made its return to the Winter Paralympics after a sixteen year absence; its only prior participation had been in 1994....

 in alpine skiing at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

Alpine skiing at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

The alpine skiing competition of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics will be held at Whistler, British Columbia. The events were due to be held between 13 March and 21 March 2010...

 in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, competing in the women's slalom and the women's giant slalom. She was Iceland's sole representative, and her country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony

2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Paralympics was held on March 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....

. This was only Iceland's second participation in the Winter Paralympic Games

Winter Paralympic Games

The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter...

. For its previous participation, in 1994

Iceland at the 1994 Winter Paralympics

Iceland made its Winter Paralympic Games début at the 1994 Winter Paralympics in Lillehammer. The country sent only one competitor, who took part in ice sledge speed racing...

, it had fielded a single male athlete (Svanur Ingvarsson), in ice sledge speed racing

Ice sledge speed racing at the 1994 Winter Paralympics

Ice sledge speed racing at the 1994 Winter Paralympics consisted of eight events, four for men and four for women.Although seven countries took part, Norway pulled off an almost complete clean sweep of the medals, winning all eight gold medals, all eight silver, and seven of the eight bronze -...

. Erna was thus Iceland's first ever Paralympic alpine skier, and its first female Winter Paralympian.

In Vancouver, competing in the women's slalom

Alpine skiing at the 2010 Winter Paralympics – Women's slalom

The Women's Slalom competition of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics was held at Whistler Blackcomb in Whistler, British Columbia. The competition was rescheduled to Sunday March 14 and Monday March 15 due to weather conditions.-Visually Impaired:...

, she completed the first run in 2:04.05 (14th and last of those who finished the race), crashed twice during the second and struggled to pick herself up, eventually reaching the finish line. She was, however, recorded as disqualified for her second run.