Australia at the 2018 Winter Paralympics facts for kids
Australia sent a team to compete at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Australian team competed in two exciting sports: para-alpine skiing and para-snowboarding.
The team's leaders were co-captains Mitchell Gourley and Joany Badenhorst. Mitchell Gourley first competed for Australia at the Winter Paralympics in 2006. He has been to every Winter Paralympics since then! Joany Badenhorst made history as the first Australian woman to compete in para-snowboarding at the Paralympic Games.
The 2018 Winter Paralympic Games were shown on Seven Network in Australia. This was a big moment because it was the first time the Paralympic Games were broadcast on a commercial TV station in Australia.
Contents
Team Australia
Mitchell Gourley and Joany Badenhorst were chosen as team co-captains in October 2017. Their job was to work with the Australian Paralympic Committee and Nick Dean, the Chef de Mission. They helped bring together a strong team for both para-alpine skiing and para-snowboarding.
Sean Pollard hoped to be the last person added to the team. He went to a snowboarding competition in Canada in February 2018. This event was the final chance for athletes to qualify for the 2018 Games.
On February 20, 2018, the Australian Paralympic Committee announced their full team. It included 13 amazing athletes! Shaun Pianta and his sighted guide, Jeremy O’Sullivan, also earned their spot. They just needed final approval from the International Paralympic Committee to officially join Team Australia.
The table below shows the members of "Team Australia" who competed in the 2018 Games.
| Name | Sport | Gender | Classification | Events | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joany Badenhorst | para-snowboarding | female | SB-LL2 | ||
| Lara Falk | para-alpine skiing | female | guide skier for Patrick Jensen | Slalom and Giant slalom | |
| Christian Geiger | para-alpine skiing | male | guide skier for Melissa Perrine | ||
| Mitchell Gourley | para-alpine skiing | male | LW6/8-2 | ||
| Patrick Jensen | para-alpine skiing | male | B2 | Slalom and Giant slalom | |
| Jonty O'Callaghan | para-alpine skiing | male | LW9-1 | ||
| Simon Patmore | para-snowboarding | male | SB-UL | ||
| Victoria Pendergast | para-alpine skiing | female | LW12-1 | ||
| Melissa Perrine | para-alpine skiing | female | B2 | ||
| Sean Pollard | para-snowboarding | male | |||
| Mark Soyer | para-alpine skiing | male | LW11 | ||
| Sam Tait | para-alpine skiing | male | LW11 | ||
| Ben Tudhope | para-snowboarding | male | SB-LL2 |
In March 2017, Nick Dean was chosen as the Chef de Mission. He had a lot of experience! He was the Chef de Mission at the 1994, 1998, and 2002 Winter Games. He also helped lead teams at other Winter and Summer Paralympic Games between 1992 and 2012.
Team Preparation
The Australian team was expected to have between 10 and 12 athletes. They would compete in para-alpine skiing and para-snowboarding. Their goal was to finish in the top 15 countries on the medal table. This goal was set by the Australian Sports Commission.
The team would be missing some past Winter Paralympic medal winners. These included skiers Cameron Rahles-Rahbula, Toby Kane, and Jessica Gallagher.
The Australian Paralympic Committee believed that Mitchell Gourley, Melissa Perrine, Joany Badenhorst, and Ben Tudhope had a good chance to win medals in South Korea.
Para-alpine Skiing
Skiers
Mitchell Gourley first represented Australia at the Winter Paralympics in 2006. He has competed in every Winter Paralympics since then. Mitchell was born without his lower left arm.
Lara Falk is Patrick Jensen's guide skier. She was 21 years old when she was chosen for the team. She skis in front of Patrick. As they go down the mountain, she tells him about the slope, speed, and snow conditions. Her main goal is to help Patrick ski his very best. The two started skiing together in 2016.
Schedule and Results
The first para-alpine event was the downhill race. It started on March 10. The Super-G event was on March 11. The super combined race took place on March 13. This event had a Super-G part in the morning and a slalom part in the afternoon.
The slalom event started on March 14 and finished on March 15. Both women and men raced during the morning sessions. In the afternoon, the women did their second run first, then the men. The last para-alpine skiing race was the giant slalom. It happened on March 17-18. Men and women raced at the same time in the morning. In the afternoon, women raced first, with men starting about half an hour later.
| Athlete | Event | Final | Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Total Time | Rank | |||
| Melissa Perrine /
Andy Bor (guide) B2 |
Downhill B & VI | |||||
| Super G B & VI | ||||||
| Super combined B & VI | ||||||
| Slalom B & VI | ||||||
| Giant slalom B & VI | ||||||
| Victoria Pendergast LW12-1 | Slalom sit-ski | |||||
| Giant slalom sit-ski | ||||||
| Athlete | Event | Final | Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Total Time | Rank | |||
| Mitchell Gourley LW6/8-2 | Downhill Standing | |||||
| Slalom Standing | ||||||
| Giant slalom standing | ||||||
| Super G standing | ||||||
| Super combined standing | ||||||
| Jonty O'Callaghan LW9-1 | Downhill Standing | |||||
| Slalom Standing | ||||||
| Giant slalom standing | ||||||
| Super G standing | ||||||
| Mark Soyer LW11 | Downhill Sitting | |||||
| Slalom Sitting | ||||||
| Giant slalom Sitting | ||||||
| Super G Sitting | ||||||
| Super combined Sitting | ||||||
| Sam Tait LW11 | Slalom Sitting | |||||
| Giant slalom Sitting | ||||||
| Super G Sitting | ||||||
| Patrick Jensen B2
Lara Falk (guide) |
Downhill Standing | |||||
| Slalom Standing | ||||||
| Giant slalom standing | ||||||
| Super G standing | ||||||
| Super combined standing | ||||||
Para-snowboarding
Snowboarders
Joany Badenhorst won a gold medal at a World Cup event just one month before the 2018 Games. She also won two bronze medals at World Cup events in 2017.
Joany was the first Australian woman to compete in para-snowboarding at the Paralympic Games. She started the sport after a snowboard coach saw her working out. The coach asked if she wanted to try snowboarding. Joany said, "why not?" and has been snowboarding ever since!
The Australian Paralympic Committee wanted to send snowboarders to the sport's first appearance at the 2014 Games. So, Joany's training was sped up. She aimed to compete at the Sochi Paralympics. However, while practicing in Sochi just minutes before her competition in 2014, she had an accident. She broke her kneecap, collapsed her hip, and dislocated her knee.
Before snowboarding, Joany wanted to compete in para-athletics. She almost went to the 2012 Summer Paralympics for that sport. But problems with her leg meant she had to stop competing. When she was 10 years old, living in South Africa, she was in an accident. Because of this accident, her leg was amputated.
Sean Pollard has a disability that came from an accident.
Schedule and Results
The snowboard cross event started on March 12. It ran for all classes for both men and women. The slalom race was planned for March 16. This race also included men and women in all classes.
| Athlete | Event | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Joany Badenhorst
SB-LL2 |
Women's snowboard cross | ||||||||
| Women's snowboard banked | |||||||||
| Athlete | Event | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Simon Patmore
SB-UL |
Men's snowboard cross | ||||||||
| Men's snowboard banked | |||||||||
| Sean Pollard
SB-UL |
Men's snowboard cross | ||||||||
| Men's snowboard banked | |||||||||
| Ben Tudhope
SB-LL2 |
Men's snowboard cross | ||||||||
| Men's snowboard banked | |||||||||
History of Australia at the Winter Paralympics
Australia first competed at the Winter Paralympics in 1980 in Geilo, Norway. They have competed at every Winter Paralympics since then.
Michael Milton is the Australian athlete with the most Winter Paralympic medals. He was a standing para-alpine skier. He won eleven medals during his time at the Winter Games, including six gold medals!
Australia had a challenging time at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. They only won two medals at those Games. One medal was a bronze, won by Toby Kane in the men's standing super combined event. Jessica Gallagher and her guide skier Christian Geiger won Australia's other medal in 2014. It was a bronze in the women's vision impaired giant slalom.
Media Coverage
The 2018 Winter Paralympic Games were shown on Seven Network in Australia. This was a first! It was the first time the Paralympic Games were broadcast on a commercial television station in Australia. Seven showed special highlight programs in the morning and evening each day of the Winter Games.
Images for kids
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Nick Dean, Australian Paralympic administrator
See also
In Spanish: Australia en los Juegos Paralímpicos de Pyeongchang 2018 para niños
