Ben Tudhope overcomes race-day injury to claim silver medal at Games
Australia has its first medal of the 2026 Winter Paralympics after this flag-bearer and veteran snowboarder Ben Tudhope beat a dislocated shoulder to win silver on Day 2 at Milano Cortina
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Ben Tudhope’s snowboard cross final ended in triumph, but his day began with a near disaster.
The four-time Paralympian won the silver medal in the SB-LL2 at the Winter Paralympics on Day 2, storming to second place behind Italy’s Emanual Perathoner in the thrilling big final at Cortina Para Snowboard Park on Sunday local time.
But the snowboarding veteran’s* medal hopes swerved dangerously close to disaster when he injured his shoulder at the start of his first race of the day.
“It was really hard, my shoulder actually popped out in that first heat pulling out of the start gate,” Tudhope said.
“It was just kind of a click. I don’t really know what happened. It was just a click out and in and then ‘boom’.”
Tudhope said the medical team at the top of the course handled his injury so well that he was able to keep going.
“It doesn’t hurt, but to actually go through that, to go through the process of going, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got this injury’, but then being able to go through the rounds and get this medal is insane,” he said.
Tudhope’s silver medal is Australia’s first at the Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games and the second Paralympic medal of his career.
“I thought I could tail and draft* the Italian guy (Perathoner) who ended up winning, but I made a mistake in turn four into five. I let him slip, he got ahead and, on this course, if you make one mistake, you’re pretty much out of it,” Tudhope said.
“So, I kind of knew it would be really hard to get him, but the guys behind me, I was like, ‘Oh no, they’re coming up fast’, so I just stuck to my guns, stuck to my game plan, and let it ride on. To actually get this medal is insane.
“To be able to get it done and keep Australian Paralympic winter sports’ legacy* going – I think we’ve medalled at every single Games since ‘92 – I’m proud to be an Aussie.”
Perathoner is the reigning world champion in snowboard cross and banked slalom*, and only the second athlete to compete at both the Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games. In 2021, Perathoner was involved in a severe crash that caused multiple leg fractures and he was later classified for Paralympic competition.
“He’s kind of ‘the man’,” Tudhope said. “He’s been on tour for four years and he’s got a rich history in snowboarding before this.
“He’s progressing the sport. Everyone has looked at how he rides and everyone is more competitive for him being here. He’s good for the sport.”
Tudhope started his Paralympic career as a 14-year-old at the Sochi 2014 Games, where he was the youngest athlete from any country. His bronze medal in snowboard cross at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics was Australia’s only medal of the Games. The following year, he won gold at the World Championships in Spain.
“I just go into every race the exact same,” he said.
“When it came to the Paralympics, a big event, it wasn’t like I was anticipating it, I wasn’t waiting, I just followed the exact same routine up there, listen to my music, be in my zone and to come away and get it done is absolutely incredible.
“Snowboarding is my love. I love snowboarding so much. I’m just grateful. That’s the only word I can find to describe being out here.”
The silver medallist said that the Paralympic snowboarding scene had become “so much more professional (and) so much more competitive”.
“To be part of that change, to see it evolve and grow, it feels awesome,” he said.
“Seeing this crowd here, it’s insane. In 2014, we filled less than half the stadium, Beijing we had nothing because of Covid. To see everyone here, not even just from Australia, not even my friends and family, but everyone – it’s electric.”
Tudhope and the rest of the Para snowboard squad will compete in the banked slalom event on Saturday 14 March.
Source: Paralympics Australia/David Sygall
POLL
GLOSSARY
- veteran: someone with long experience in something
- draft: racing technique in which an athlete follows closely behind another to reduce air resistance and use less energy
- banked slalom: slalom course in which gate turns are set on snow banks
EXTRA READING
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Winter Olympics: week 2 highlights
QUICK QUIZ
- In which event did Ben Tudhope win his silver medal?
- Which part of Tudhope’s body was injured at the start of his first race of the day?
- The Italian gold medallist Emanuel Perathoner is one of only two Olympians to do what?
- How old was Tudhope at his first Paralympics in 2014?
- Australia has won at least one medal at every Winter Paralympics since what year?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Design a snowboard cross course
Design and draw your own snowboard cross course. Label features such as jumps, turns, bumps, start and finish.
Share your course with your classmates to compare.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: Design and Technologies, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
What can we learn from Paralympic athletes like Ben Tudhope?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Athlete profile
It’s time to shine a spotlight on our Paralympic athletes. Create a template for a character profile that we can fill in with all the information you want to know about some of our para athletes. Make sure the layout has subtitles, and perhaps questions under each subtitle, to help us fill it in.