Patrick Jensen is a visually impaired para-alpine skier that competes in the Downhill, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Super-G, and Super Combined disciplines (G3). He was selected for his second Australian Paralympic Team for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Hailing from Newcastle, New South Wales Patrick attended a Disabled Winter Sport Australia camp in 2013 where he first tried skiing. That same year he made his Australian debut at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Thredbo.
In 2017 Patrick, with his guide Lara Folk, achieved two podium finishes at the 2017 IPC Alpine Skiing Europa Cup in Switzerland, claiming bronze in both the Men’s Giant Slalom B2 and Super-G B2 before going on to debut at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy where the pair placed 9th in the Men’s Slalom VI.
Making his Paralympic debut at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, Patrick and Lara competed in the Men’s Slalom VI and the Men’s Giant Slalom VI where they recorded an 11th place finish in the Giant Slalom.
At the 2019 Para Alpine Skiing World Championships, held in Slovenia and Italy, Patrick was given the honour of opening ceremony flag bearer and went on to claim three top–ten finishes – seventh in both the Men’s Downhill and Slalom VI and ninth in the Men’s Giant Slalom VI.
Patrick had a breakthrough 2019/20 season. With his new guide Amelia Hodgson, the NSW Institute of Sport scholarship holder claimed his first world cup medal – a bronze in Super-G, at the opening world cup event in Veysonnaz, Switzerland followed by back-to-back bronze medals in the slalom at the Prato Nevoso World Cup in Italy.
At his second Paralympic Games – the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games, Patrick competed alongside sighted guide Amelia to achieve three top-ten finishes.
The duo were named to the Australian Team to compete in all five Para alpine skiing disciplines, competing in the vision impaired classification.
Patrick and Amelia enjoyed success in the men’s super-g, finishing in sixth as well as the slalom and downhill events where they earned respective eighth-place finishes.
Image Credit: L. Percival