When the accident occurred, Nichols was taken by helicopter to the San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington and it took eight hours of surgery to reconstruct her back with two rods and three pins.

After discovering the sport Nichols transferred to the University of Arizona, where she studied special education rehab and school psychology.

[3] Her Paralympic debut came in 2008 when, as part of the U.S. women's team, she won a gold medal in wheelchair basketball at the Beijing games.

Her first win came in February 2009 when she beat Paralympic gold medalist Laurie Stephens to take first in the super-G at a North American Cup event in Kimberley, British Columbia.

[6] In 2012, Nichols competed in the London Paralympics, where the United States women's wheelchair basketball team placed fourth.