Para Alpine team ready to ski Sapporo
Published Fri 09 Feb 2024
The small but tight-knit Australian Para Alpine team continues to go from strength to strength, with this week presenting another challenge and another opportunity.
After a start to the season dramatically impacted by adverse whether, the team’s preparations have been markedly different since Christmas following a solid training block in Italy, where hard snow replicated racing conditions.
The progress made in the training environment brought the season highlight in Veysonnez when Georgia Gunew claimed her first World Cup podium alongside guide Ethan Jackson.
Ali Bombardier, Para Teams Manager and Alpine Coach said the result in Switzerland was a tremendous lift for the entire squad and a great payoff for all the effort which has been put in both on and off the snow.
“The podium for Georgia and Ethan in Veysonnaz, was a morale boost for them and also the team,” said Bombardier. “A small step forward after lots of work on consistency and communication that reinforced that all the hard work pays off.
“Alpine racing can be a very individual sport, in Para Alpine, specifically the Visually Impaired field - the guide-athlete team component adds a team twist to the scenario, and this team is really starting to work well together.”
Josh Hanlon’s results in the sitting events have also been strong, with one fantastic opportunity coming at the Cortina World Cup where the team skied the hill that will host the Paralympics in 2026.
Following the European swing, the squad headed to Japan this week ahead of the Sapporo World Cups which start on Saturday.
“The races this week in Sapporo mark the halfway point in our World Cup calendar,” said Bombardier. “It is an opportunity to take the improvements from our last training block - and learnings from earlier season competitions - into these events.
“This will be the first time in five years the Para World Cup has been outside of Europe, and as close to a home race as we get.
“Everyone is ready to experience the different culture and to step up with competitors from Europe out of their comfort zones!”
The event features tech events only, with Giant Slalom on Saturday and Sunday followed by Slalom on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Racing starts at 12pm AEDT each day. Click here for live timing.
