Dual Winter Paralympian and Crystal Globe Champion Ben Tudhope named 2020 Paralympic Athlete of the Year
Published Tue 12 May 2020
Ben Tudhope has been named Snow Australia’s 2020 Paralympic Athlete of the Year after producing his best season to date, winning two gold and three silver World Cup medals and crowned Crystal Globe champion.
#SnowAustAwards | 2020 Athlete of the Year (Paralympic Disciplines)#SnowAustAwards | Stay tuned...today we're annoucing the winner of Snow Australia's 2020 Athlete of the Year (Paralympic Disciplines)
Posted by Snow Australia on Monday, May 11, 2020
The 20 year old is Australia’s youngest ever Winter Paralympian when he made his debut at the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympic Games aged just 14 years old.
Hailing from Manly, the NSWIS snowboarder had a decorated 2019/20 season, and was arguably Australia’s best athlete on the World Para Snowboard World Cup circuit.
Ben’s performance on the world stage was inspirational after the sudden passing of his coach and mentor Mikko Wendelin at the start of the season. Ben went on to honour Mikko the best way he knew how - consistently strong performances in each of his World Cups. Ben was extremely honoured to be recognised as the 2020 Snow Australia Paralympic Athlete of the Year.
“This is such an incredible title to have - I’m overwhelmed with joy right now,” Tudhope said.
“It’s just amazing to see how far my career has come and to be honoured with this achievement just really puts me at the top of my game.”
“This season was hectic - one for the memory books definitely but I just tried to keep my composure and consistently get those good results.”
Snow Australia Chief Executive Officer Michael Kennedy said he felt extremely proud to announce Ben as the Athlete of the Year (Paralympic Disciplines).
“I could only watch Ben in awe this season - he went from strength to strength and captured the hearts of many along the way as he faced a season without his coach and mentor,” Kennedy said.
“But he embodied what it means to come back stronger and I know Mikko would be extremely proud of his achievements this season.
“Ben is still so young and I look forward to seeing what he can achieve in the years to come.”
The announcement of Paralympic Athlete of the Year leaves only the Olympic Athlete of the Year to be awarded.
Stay tuned to Snow Australia’s social media channels for more information.