Ron Finneran is Australia’s first Winter Paralympian, the only Australian participant at the 1976 Örnsköldsvik (Sweden) Winter Paralympics.

Finneran contracted polio as a child and was left with mobility impairments in one leg and  one arm. He discovered a passion for skiing in 1973, after a trip to the snow with friends in Thredbo. By 1976, he was ready for the first edition of the Paralympic Winter Games. His application was supported by the Australian Ski Federation and accepted by the Games Organising Committee, which was keen to assist him on his arrival in Sweden. Finneran arrived in Örnsköldsvik six weeks before the Games and was welcomed by the locals, who gave him work during the day and helped him train at night. 

After the Opening Ceremony, Finneran was asked to meet with Sir Ludwig Guttmann, founder of the Paralympic movement, who informed him that since he was not an amputee nor a vision-impaired athlete, he would not be allowed to participate. Ron was devastated, arguing that those were the Games for the disabled and his exclusion was unfair. Despite being unable to compete, Finneran stayed in Sweden and acted as a forerunner for the skiing events, testing the course before competition. The people of Örnsköldsvik sympathised with his disappointment so much that they raised enough money to pay for a two-year degree in physical education and recreation at the local university.

In 1978 Finneran returned to Australia and founded the Australian Disabled Skiers Federation alongside Canadian ski instructor Bruce Abel and Australian ski instructor Nick Dean. The Federation is now known as Disabled Wintersports Australia (DWA).

Serving as DWA Executive Director for 31 years, Finneran was able to completely transform and establish disabled skiing in Australia, improving facilities, training programs, talent development and government support. He played a major role in the establishment of the Jindabyne Winter Academy, a program designed to assist elite and talented able-bodied and disabled alpine skiers. Finneran’s work culminated in 2001, when the Australian Institute of Sport established a Paralympic Alpine Skiing Program, in conjunction with the Australian Paralympic Committee.

Finneran was also Chef de Mission and Team Manager of the Australian Winter Paralympic teams from 1980 to 1994. His many roles in sports administration include stints as Board Member of the Australian Paralympic Federation (1990-1995) and as Chairman of the Bid Committee for the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games.

After receiving his OAM in 2004, Finneran stated: "To have had just a small part in profiling the abilities of people with disabilities, be it in recreational activities to the very elite in Paralympic sport, has been an enormously rewarding experience." Finneran was later inducted in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (2005) and in the Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame (2016).

Source
paralympichistory.org.au