Impairment Information |
Type of Impairment |
Cerebral Palsy |
Origin of Impairment |
Congenital |
Classification |
SB-LL2 |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Manly, NSW, AUS |
Occupation |
Athlete, Student |
Languages |
English |
Higher education |
Business Management - University of Technology Sydney: Ultimo, NSW, AUS |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began snowboarding in 2009 at Mount Hotham, VIC, Australia. |
Why this sport? |
He was introduced to snowboarding by his sister Annabel. "I love the adrenaline it gives you. You always feel pumped on a snowboard ready to do anything that comes in your way. Competing really just came with snowboarding. I didn't really set out one day and say I want to compete." |
Name of coach |
Lukas Prem [national], AUS |
Senior International Debut |
Year |
2013 |
Competing for |
Australia |
Location |
Landgraaf, NED |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Benny, Tuddy (Athlete, 18 Jun 2016) |
Hobbies |
Board sports, freeriding, hiking. (bouncefoods.com, 10 Oct 2017; Athlete, 18 Jun 2016) |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning two gold medals at the 2018 World Cup event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (paralympic.org, 08 Nov 2018) |
Most influential person in career |
Coach Lukas Prem. (Athlete, 18 Jun 2016) |
Hero / Idol |
Australian Para snowboarder Matthew Robinson. (Athlete, 18 Jun 2016) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"If you want something bad enough, then you adapt. No matter how much it hurts physically and emotionally." (bouncefoods.com, 10 Oct 2017) |
Awards and honours |
He was Australia's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. (paralympic.org, 16 Mar 2014) |
Famous relatives |
His sister Annabel has competed on the World Snowboard Tour and his other sister Phoebe has competed for Australia in moguls in freestyle skiing. (FIS, 31 Aug 2013; worldsnowboardtour.com, 2013) |
Ambitions |
To be ranked number one in the world. (paralympic.org, 26 Mar 2016) |
Impairment |
He had a stroke while in the womb, which resulted in paralysis on the left side of his body. (Athlete, 18 Jun 2016) |
Other information |
RUGBY MENTOR
In October 2017 the Sport Australia Hall of Fame [SAHOF] Scholarship and Mentoring Programme announced that he was to be mentored by former Australian rugby union player Nick Farr-Jones. "One of the areas I'm very excited about is Nick sharing his thoughts on the mechanisms of being a great athlete, how he coped with and managed competitions. He is an Australian sporting legend." (paralympic.org, 06 Oct 2017)
YOUNG PARALYMPIAN
At age 14 years and 91 days he became the youngest athlete to represent Australia at the Paralympic Winter Games when he competed at the 2014 Games in Sochi. He was also the youngest athlete from any nation to compete at the 2014 Games. Four years later he was again the youngest member of the Australian team at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (foxsports.com.au, 06 Mar 2014; news.com.au, 16 Mar 2014; shore.nsw.edu.au, 01 Mar 2018; bentudhope.com, 01 Apr 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 19 Dec 2018) |
World Championships - Para snowboard |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 10 |
2014/2015 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 8 |
2014/2015 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:32.36 |
| 9 |
2016/2017 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 8 |
2016/2017 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:10.00 |
Paralympic Games - Para snowboard |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 10 |
2014 |
Snowboardcross - Standing |
1:56.84 |
| 10 |
2018 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 7 |
2018 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
51.68 |
World Cup Finals - Para snowboard |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 7 |
2015/2016 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:00.14 |
| 4 |
2016/2017 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 7 |
2016/2017 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
|
| 8 |
2017/2018 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:07.02 |
| 4 |
2017/2018 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 2 Impaired |
1:16.44 |
