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At his third attempt, on a journey that began eight years ago when he was a fresh-faced 14 year old, snowboard star Ben Tudhope can finally call himself a Paralympic medallist.
The Australian Paralympic Winter Team co-captain – Australia’s only snowboard representative at Beijing 2022 – looked out of the medals in the Big Final at Zhangjiakou, but pulled out a remarkable comeback to mow down Qi Sun of China close to the finish line to score bronze.
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“I honestly thought I was going to end up fourth,” Tudhope said. “But I pushed and pushed and pushed in that final straight and ended up getting bronze and it’s unbelievable.
“Me and my coach have worked a lot on this – the main thing is to be patient. Don’t take bad moves, don’t make aggressive passes, just stick behind, draft him and then when you see the opportunity – the best opportunity – that’s when you go. I’m proud of my riding. I really am.”
The gold medal was won by Matti Suur-Hamari of Finland, Tudhope’s training mate and Team Unicorn teammate. Team Unicorn was formed after the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics, when the Finnish coach at the time, Mikko Wendelin, said he wanted to help train the Australian snowboarders.
Since the team’s formation, Tudhope has continually improved to become the world’s best, having been awarded the Crystal Globe at the end of the 2021/22 season. The third member of the team, Alex Massie of Canada, didn’t make the Big Final but was so pleased to see his friends gain places on the dais.
“This team is something else,” said Tudhope, who will contest the Banked Slalom on Saturday.
“It’s honestly incredible. I couldn’t do without them. I couldn’t be here without them. They mean the world to me.
“To see Matti get the gold, it’s incredible. He’s the greatest of all time in our sport and he just cemented that today.”
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Tudhope’s medal was emotional. Wendelin’s sudden death in 2019 and the 2014 passing of Australian snowboarder Matty Robinson, who had been one of Tudhope’s early mentors and friends in the sport, hit hard.
“The medal is 100 percent in honour of them because they’re the ones who drove me to fall in love with this sport and just push,” he said.
“I know they’d be so proud of me where I am today. Because as a 14 year old kid, as an 18 year old kid, I tried my hardest but it didn’t end up the way I wanted. But today I can finally say I’m really proud of my result at a Paralympic Games – in honour of them.
“Today was just about me,” he added. “I didn’t focus on anything else. I actually deleted Instagram and Messenger and all those platforms two days ago so it was out of my head. I know there was a really strong contingent at home watching me in Manly, my home town, and all those people there have been really close and a special part of my career and my life. To have them supporting me means the world to me.
“I’m so proud to be a part of this team and a captain of this team. We all want it for each other. To be able to medal for Australia, I still can’t wrap my head around it. It doesn’t feel real yet.
“To call myself a Paralympic medallist has been a dream of mine forever since my Paralympic journey started. To do it here, to do it for Australia and to be the first Australian medallist [at Beijing 2022], it’s insane but incredible as well.”
Tudhope, just 22, is already somewhat a veteran of the sport, having made his Paralympic debut at Sochi 2014.
“I worked my way up and it was a really slow process. It’s been a full eight years, eight years of grind and determination,” he said. “To end up a Paralympic medallist, I definitely knew it was coming, but to do it here is incredible and to do it in a race like this today, where everybody’s on their A game, pushing the limits, showcasing our sport on this course, it’s absolutely incredible.”
Tudhope becomes the second Australian to win a Paralympic medal in snowboarding after his good friend Simon Patmore won a gold and bronze medal four years ago in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Watch the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games live and free on 7plus from 4-13 March.
By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 7 March 2022
