Snow Australia Awards – Para Athletes of the Year

Mountainwatch | Press Release

The Snow Australia Awards recognise the achievements of our elite snowsport athletes over the past 12 months, and we are pleased to announce the Para Athletes of the Year for each discipline.

The Award winners are now nominated for the overall Male & Female Athlete of the Year – Paralympic Disciplines, which will be presented at the Snow Australia Awards on Thursday 2 May in Melbourne.

Male Para Alpine Athlete of the Year – Josh Hanlon
Josh Hanlon continued to improve throughout the season and regularly nailed down top 10 results on the World Cup circuit.

Josh scored three top-eight finishes at the Sapporo World Cup and backed it up with another seventh place result in Austria later in the season. He finished the season ranked 11th overall in the Men’s sitting category, 9th in slalom and 12th in giant slalom.

Female Para Alpine Athlete of the Year – Georgia Gunew
A relative newcomer to the Australian Para Alpine team, Georgia Gunew launched into her first-ever World Cup campaign alongside new guide Ethan Jackson.

A flurry of top five results eventually paved the way to her maiden World Cup podium, a bronze in Veysonnez. Georgia finished the season ranked inside the top 10 on the slalom, giant slalom and Super G visually impaired World Cup rankings.

Male Para Snowboard Athlete of the Year – Ben Tudhope
Ben Tudhope continued to prove why he is one of the leading para snowboard athletes in the world with another incredible season.

Ben made his way onto nine World Cup podiums from 10 starts, scoring eight silver medals and a snowboard cross victory at the World Cup finals in Canada. On the end of season standings, Ben finished second in snowboard cross, second in banked slalom and second overall.