Josh Hanlon Wins Bronze at Para Alpine World Cup

With 50 days to go until the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Paralympic Games, Australian Para Alpine skier Josh Hanlon has won Australia’s first medal in Downhill since 2017.

At the Downhill World Cup in Austria, the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder skied to a bronze medal – the first for Australia since Mel Perrine in 2017.

Hanlon achieved his best ever result on the first day of competition, before delivering a bronze medal performance on the second day of the World Cup in Saalbach.

Despite finishing seventh on day one, Hanlon was only 3.1 seconds behind the leader, closing the gap to 2.26 seconds on day two to claim the bronze.

“The snow was super hard and fast – the race hill is really cool with lots of challenging terrain,” Hanlon said.

“I’m absolutely stoked with the podium result, I honestly didn’t expect it at all. I didn’t quite execute the harder parts of the course how I wanted, but I’m happy that was just enough (for a medal),” he said.

The World Cup was held on the same course as last year’s World Championships, providing a challenging set on hard, icy snow – testing both the athlete’s skill and nerves.

The Para Alpine circuit now moves to Super G races in Saalbach on 16 and 17 January, where Hanlon looks to continue his success in the more technical of the speed disciplines.

Snow Australia