Para Alpine: Josh Hanlon scores World Cup best while Pat Jensen chases podium result with new guide

The Australian Para Alpine ski team started their FIS World Cup campaign last week competing in St. Moritz, Switzerland, before moving on to Steinach am Brenner, Austria, where more races will be held during the weekend. 

Racing in the Men's Sitting category, Josh Hanlon recorded his best-ever FIS result in St, Moritz. After a bumpy start to the event, recording a DNF in the Giant Slalom and a DQ in the first Slalom Race, Hanlon found his groove despite tough conditions with fog and new snow, placing 10th in the second Slalom event, before recording a career-best FIS result of 7th in the third Slalom event.

“It had been a few big days getting back into our first race block for the season, but I was really happy with how I went on the fourth day,” Hanlon said after his performance. 

“I felt a lot more confident pushing out the gate and attacking the courses than last season. Super stoked with the final result and keen to keep pushing hard and working my way up the order,” he said. 

Hanlon had already raced in St. Moritz last season and he said being familiar with the hill helped him adjust over the course of the event. He will be hoping to do the same in Steinach, a slope he has also experienced in the past and he’s excited to be racing again, as he chases his first podium at a World Cup event. 

“My main focus for the season is to be consistent in finishing close to the lead. There's unreal depth to the sit-skiing, so it's great to be here amongst them, learning as much as I can,” Hanlon said.

The next stop of the World Cup tour was in Austria, where Patrick Jensen made his first World Cup start of the season on Wednesday, after forerunning in St. Moritz. 

In the two Super-G races which opened the event in Steinach am Brenner, Hanlon recorded a 12th and a 13th-place finish, while in the vision impaired category Pat Jensen finished fourth in the first race and sixth in the second, competing with new sighted guide Ethan Jackson. 

Jensen and Jackson met at the start of the Australian winter season after Jackson had the opportunity to catch up with Jensen’s previous guide, Amelia Hodgson. Jackson said he was so impressed with the stories he heard, that he could not turn down the opportunity to pair up with the two-times Winter Paralympian. The two have been working hard ever since, looking to hone their partnership in time for their World Cup debut. 

“Pat and I used our preseason training to build trust, which is a fundamental element between guide and athlete. We used the most of our limited time together to create a great foundation for us to build upon this coming European season,” Jackson said. 

“Our pre-season training was spot on,” echoed Jensen. “We could have definitely done with more time together on snow, but we focussed on quality training with the time we had and ticked all the boxes.” 

As a newly formed team and with Jackson experiencing para-alpine World Cup skiing for the first time, forerunning in St Moritz was a good opportunity for him and Jensen to get more comfortable in that kind of racing environment. With a fourth place finish in their first race, the Aussie team showed the foundation is there to keep building and get closer and closer to a medal result. 

“My goals for this season are to ski as well as I possibly can, and to have fun while I do so,” Jensen said. “To be in the top 5 of my field is an absolute win for me, and possibly we could bring home a sneaky medal!  But most of all, I wish to finish my runs with a smile on my face!” 

Encouraging results aside, Jackson said his experience as a para-alpine sighted guide has already produced many rewarding experiences and highlights, from the new network of friends he was able to meet across the world to the opportunity he was given to push himself physically and mentally, while participating in a sport at the elite level.

“I also realised the insane bravery and talent of all the athletes who compete on the circuit,” Jackson said. “To be able to do what these athletes do is truly impressive to watch, and I encourage everyone to do so.” 

Jensen and Jackson wrapped up their World Cup start in Steinach after the two Super-G events. Meanwhile, racing continues in the Austrian resort with Hanlon in the starting gate of the two Giant Slalom events scheduled on Friday and Saturday. Follow the live timing HERE