Bemidji local Chloe Kirkpatrick is your typical high school senior, except she also happens to be one of the best sled hockey players in the world. On August 31st, for the second year in a row, she will join Team USA in Green Bay, Wisconsin to compete in the World Para Ice Hockey tournament known as the Women’s World Challenge. But the road she journeyed to get there is a long one, both figuratively and literally.

Born with spina bifida and two clubbed feet, Chloe was unable to walk. She never knew her birth parents and was being raised in an orphanage in China. Bradi Kirkpatrick, a teacher from Bemidji who working in China, adopted Chloe and brought her back to the United States.

Chloe fell in love with sled hockey, but with the closest team being in Moorhead, she made the sacrifice of taking a 260-mile round trip every weekend to go to practices. She would eventually become good enough to make the United States national team and compete in international events.

Chloe’s ultimate goal is to be a Paralympian. She currently has her sights set on competing at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games in Italy.

By — Charlie Yaeger