Children of Fallen Heroes supports military, special operations, first responders, foster kids, caregivers, and Title One Schools.
Howie Sanborn
U.S. Army Airborne Ranger, Veteran • Former U.S. Army Golden Knight • Paralympian • 2017 USA Paratriathlon National Champion • CFH Adaptive Athlete
Discover What’s Possible.
Support CFH Adaptive Athlete Howie Sanborn on the Road to LA 2028 — and help us inspire the next generation through discovery.
Discover What’s Possible
Howie Sanborn knows what can happen when someone opens the door to an opportunity you didn’t know existed.
Originally from Alton, New Hampshire, Howie served 15 years in the United States Army as an Airborne Ranger, including deployments to Iraq. His military career also took him to the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights, where he served as a parachute demonstrator.
Howie was also a competitive triathlete.
In 2012, while cycling with a teammate, Howie was struck by a distracted driver. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down and changed the course of his life.
But it didn’t end his life as an athlete.
During rehabilitation, Howie was introduced to Dare2tri and discovered that adaptive sport offered a path back to competition. Just seven months after his injury, he returned to the starting line as a wheelchair triathlete.
That discovery would eventually take him around the world.
Howie became an elite U.S. para-triathlete. He won the 2017 USA Paratriathlon National Championship, took double gold at Davenport and Montreal in the 2023 World Triathlon Para Series, and was crowned 2024 Americas Triathlon Para Champion. In Paris in 2024 he represented Team USA at the Paralympic Games, finishing 9th in his Paralympic debut.
Today, Howie begins another chapter as a Children of Fallen Heroes Adaptive Athlete.
STILL COMPETING — 2026 SEASON
GOLD — World Triathlon Para Series, Devonport — 1:07:17
SILVER — World Triathlon Para Series, Montreal — 1:01:47
GOLD — Americas Triathlon Para Championships, Antofagasta — 1:05:37
7th — World Triathlon Para Series, Hamburg — 1:03:32
Career: 68 international starts • 31 podiums • 11 wins
Next: 2026 World Triathlon Para Championships, Pontevedra, Spain — September 25–27
USA TRIATHLON PROFILE → WORLD TRIATHLON RESULTS →
From Discovery to Possibility
Howie’s role with Children of Fallen Heroes goes far beyond representing CFH on the world stage.
He is joining our mission to help children and other athletes discover opportunities they may never have known existed.
A child can’t pursue a sport they’ve never experienced. An athlete facing a life-changing challenge may not know another path exists until someone shows them.
Sometimes one introduction, one mentor, or one opportunity can completely change what someone believes is possible.
Someone helped open that door for Howie.
Now, as a CFH Adaptive Athlete, Howie can help open it for the next generation.
Through mentorship, athlete experiences, Para & Adaptive Sports, and CFH discovery programs, Howie will share the lessons of military service, elite competition, teamwork, perseverance, and pursuing excellence at the highest level.
The Road to LA 2028
Howie’s journey isn’t finished.
Children of Fallen Heroes will stand behind Howie’s 2026–2028 Athlete Campaign as he trains, competes nationally and internationally, and pursues his goal of once again representing Team USA — this time at the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
Every competition along that road becomes more than a finish line.
It becomes another experience, another lesson, and another opportunity Howie can bring back to the children and athletes coming behind him.
2026 World Triathlon Para Championships — Pontevedra
SEPTEMBER 25, 2026 | PONTEVEDRA, SPAIN
Before Kona, Howie lines up against the best paratriathletes in the world at the 2026 World Triathlon Para Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.
The World Championships bring together the top-ranked athletes from every nation in a swim-bike-run showdown that decides the year’s world titles. For Howie, it is the next test on the road to Los Angeles 2028 — a chance to measure himself against the field he will face on the Paralympic stage.
Racing for Team USA. Carrying the CFH mission to the world stage.
Competing on the World Stage — Kona 2026
OCTOBER 10, 2026 | KAILUA-KONA, HAWAIʻI
Howie Sanborn’s next challenge takes him to one of the most legendary starting lines in endurance sports: the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaiʻi.
This is no ordinary race.
In a single day, athletes face 140.6 miles — a 2.4-mile open-ocean swim in Kailua Bay, a 112-mile bike through Hawaiʻi’s exposed lava fields and punishing winds, followed by a full 26.2-mile marathon.
Kona is where heat, humidity, wind and distance come together to create one of endurance sport’s defining tests.
For Howie, competing in Kona represents far more than crossing another finish line. It is another chapter in a journey built on service, resilience, adaptation and the refusal to allow physical limitations to determine what is possible.
THE DISTANCE
2.4 miles swimming.
112 miles cycling.
26.2 miles running.
140.6 miles. One day. One extraordinary mission.
On October 10, Howie takes that mission to Kona.
MOTIVATIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Inspiring the Next Generation
From Army Ranger and Golden Knight to Paralympian and IRONMAN competitor, Howie brings a story of service, adaptation and relentless pursuit to every stage he steps onto.
As a motivational keynote speaker, he challenges students, athletes and audiences to look past their limits and discover what is possible — the same message he carries into every classroom, campus and competition with Children of Fallen Heroes.
One story. One message. A generation ready to discover what’s possible.
It Takes a Team to Reach the World Stage
Behind every extraordinary athlete is a team of people willing to invest their time, knowledge and belief in the journey.
Jayne Williams, MA, CF-L1, Co-founder of High Performance Cripple, is helping lead the way in preparing and supporting Howie Sanborn as he pursues some of the biggest goals of his athletic career — including the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona and his journey toward the Paralympics.
Jayne’s commitment goes far beyond simply being part of the team. She is helping Howie prepare, perform and continue pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
That is why a portion of the funds raised through Children of Fallen Heroes’ campaign for Howie supports the coaching, training, performance support and professional resources surrounding his journey, including the work being done alongside Jayne.
Your contribution helps build the team behind the athlete — while also helping cover the specialized equipment, repairs, travel, competition and training expenses required to compete at this level.
When you support Howie, you’re helping put the people, equipment and resources around him that give him the opportunity to achieve his goals.
THE ROAD AHEAD
2026 World Triathlon Para Championships — Pontevedra, Spain
September 25, 2026
2026 IRONMAN World Championship — Kona
October 10, 2026
The Journey to LA — Paralympic Games
Los Angeles 2028
From Kona to Los Angeles, Children of Fallen Heroes is proud to stand beside Howie — and the extraordinary people helping him get there.
WATCH: THE JOURNEY TO LA
Howie was featured in The Journey to LA, a Take the Doughnut interview series profiling athletes with their sights on the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
CFH Honor Network
Who Will You Honor?
Across the country, people step into an aircraft carrying a story with them.
The CFH Honor Network connects people who want to make a skydive — or an indoor flight — in honor or memory of someone with participating drop zones and wind tunnels across America.
No fee. No commission. No required discount. Jumpers and flyers contact, book and pay the drop zone or wind tunnel directly.
Honor Jump · Outdoor Skydiving
Honor Jump
Find a participating drop zone. Choose who you’re jumping for. Book directly with the drop zone at their normal rates, make the jump, and tell the story.
Honor Flight · Indoor Skydiving
Honor Flight
Not everyone can, or wants to, jump from an airplane. Honor Flight connects people with participating indoor skydiving wind tunnels — so a child can fly for Dad, a Gold Star family can fly for someone they lost, and a first responder family can do it together, subject to each tunnel’s own requirements.
The CFH Parachute Team is Children of Fallen Heroes’ established skydiving program. Children of Fallen Heroes does not sell skydives, take reservations, collect money, or operate, supervise, certify or insure any drop zone or wind tunnel.
Fuel the Journey. Expand the Impact.
Support for Howie’s 2026–2028 Athlete Campaign helps provide resources for elite training, specialized equipment, competition, travel, lodging, and international racing.
But this campaign is about more than funding races.
It’s about investing in an athlete who will use his journey to create opportunities for others.
His next mission isn’t only about where he finishes.
It’s about who he inspires along the way.
Discover What’s Possible.
Support CFH Adaptive Athlete Howie Sanborn on the Road to LA 2028 — and help us inspire the next generation through discovery.
GALLERY
