Ben Tudhope (born 13 December 1999) is an Australian

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

who has competed in para-snowboard cross at three

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

2014 to 2022. His selection at the age of 14 at the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an ...

meant that he became Australia's youngest Winter Paralympian, replacing Michael Milton. He was the youngest competitor at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games from any country. He also competed at the

2018 Winter Paralympics ) , nations = 49 , athletes = 569 , events = 80 in 6 sports , opening = 9 March , closing = 18 March , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Eun-jung Seo Soon-seok , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic ...

. At the

2022 Winter Paralympics The 2022 Winter Paralympics (), commonly known as Beijing 2022 (), was an international winter multi-sport parasports event held in Beijing, China from 4 to 13 March 2022. This was the 13th Winter Paralympic Games, as administered by the Inte ...

, he won the bronze medal in the Men's Snowboard Cross SB-LL2.

Personal

Ben Tudhope was born with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

due to a lack of oxygen to the brain during his birth and damage caused to the white matter in his brain, which caused

hemiplegia Hemiparesis, or unilateral paresis, is weakness of one entire side of the body ('' hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia is, in its most severe form, complete paralysis of half of the body. Hemiparesis and hemiplegia can be caused by different medic ...

on the left side of his body and damage connecting nerve tissue vital for movement. He lives in Manly, a suburb of Sydney, and attended the

Sydney Church of England Grammar School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Independent single-sex and co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school , grades = Early learning ...

. He has undertaken a Bachelor of Management – Sport Business at the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

Career

Tudhope's older sister Annabel introduced him to snowboarding in 2009. Annabel has competed on the World Snowboard Tour, and his other sister Phoebe has competed for Australia in

mogul skiing Mogul skiing is a freestyle skiing competition consisting of one timed run of free skiing on a steep, heavily moguled course, stressing technical turns, aerial maneuvers and speed. Internationally, the sport is contested at the FIS Freestyle Wor ...

. His Winter Paralympics path began in 2011 when Peter Baff, the head coach of Perisher's Winter Sports Club alerted Peter Higgins, Australia's Paralympic snowboard team head coach, of his ability even though he was not tall. In 2014, Tudhope was tall, and his French-made snowboard is long. Ben competed in the 2013 European Cup to qualify for the 2014 Winter Paralympics. Due to his age, his mother Melissa has accompanied him to overseas competitions. He trains at

Perisher Ski Resort Perisher Ski Resort (known as Perisher Blue until 2009) is the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in the Australian Snowy Mountains, the resort is an amalgamation of four villages (Perisher Valley, Smiggin Holes, Guthega, ...

, and undertakes dryland training at Monster Skatepark in the Sydney suburb of

Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Municipali ...

. In 2013, he was an Amelia McGuiness Australian Snowsports Development Foundation scholarship holder. Tudhope's selection for the

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

at the age of 14 meant that he became Australia's youngest Winter Paralympian, replacing Mitchell Gourley. PC18 D2 SB Tudhope 09 edit

He was the youngest competitor at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games from any country. He finished 10th out of 33 competitors in the Men's Para-snowboard Cross, and was chosen to carry the Australian flag at the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. In 2017, Tudhope became part of the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

Scholarship and Mentoring Program which included him being mentored by former Australian rugby union captain

Nick Farr-Jones Nicholas Campbell Farr-Jones AM (born 18 April 1962) is a former Australian rugby union footballer. His position was scrum-half. He is probably best remembered for winning the 1991 Rugby World Cup with his team against England. He now works at ...

Snowboard cross medallists with medals on dais edit

At the

, Tudhope finished seventh in the

banked slalom Snowboard racing is a form of snowboarding where competitors attempt to obtain the fastest time down a course. Snowboard racing can be done against the clock, or by two or more competitors racing in a head-to-head format. The current Olympic sno ...

SB-LL2 and tenth in the

snowboard cross Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...

SB-LL2. At the 2019 World Para Snowboard Championships, Pyha,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Tudhope won the silver medal in Men's Snowboard Cross LL2 and finished fourth in the Men's Banked Slalom LL2. Tudhope won the silver medal in the men's snowboard cross SB-LL2 and bronze medal in the men's dual banked slalom SB-LL2 event at the

2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships The 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships was an international disability sport competition held in Lillehammer, Norway from 8 to 23 January 2022. It was the inaugural edition of the World Para Snow Sports Championships with para-alpine skiin ...

held in

Lillehammer, Norway Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

. At the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Tudhope won the bronze medal in the men's snowboard cross SB-LL2 and finished ninth in the men's snowboard banked slalom SB-LL2 event.

Recognition

*2014 - Flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony at the

. *2019 – Sport NSW Young Athlete of the Year with a Disability *2020 – Crystal Globe as the overall SB-LL2 Snowboard Cross 2019–20 season Champion and the Crystal Globe as the most successful Para Snowboard athlete across all disciplines *2020 – Snow Australia Paralympic Athlete of the Year *2021 – Snow Australia Paralympic Athlete of the Year *2022 – Crystal Globe as the overall SB-LL2 Snowboard Cross 2021–22 season Champion and the Crystal Globe as the most successful Para Snowboard athlete across all disciplines. *2022 – Joint Team Captain with

Melissa Perrine Melissa Perrine (born 21 February 1988) is a B2 classified visually impaired para-alpine skier from Australia. She has competed at the four Winter Paralympics from 2010 to 2022. At the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, she won thre ...

of Australian Team at

*2022 - Flag bearer at Closing Ceremony at

*2022 – Snow Australia Paralympic Athlete of the Year *2022 - Paralympics Male Athlete of the Year *2022 - Paralympics Australia Athlete of the Year *2022 - New South Wales Institute of Sport Male Athlete of the Year *2022 - Australian Institute of Sport Male Para-athlete of The Year

References

External links

*
International Paralympic Committee Profile

World Para Snowboard Results
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tudhope, Ben 1999 births Living people Australian male snowboarders Cerebral Palsy category Paralympic competitors People educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School People from Manly, New South Wales Paralympic snowboarders of Australia Snowboarders at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Snowboarders at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Snowboarders at the 2022 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Paralympics Paralympic medalists in snowboarding Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia X Games athletes 20th-century Australian people 21st-century Australian people