Paralympics Australia Names Para Alpine Skiers For Milano Cortina

Australia’s Para alpine skiing team for the Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games features a sporting legend who is set to break the record for the longest ever Australian Paralympic comeback. 

The team also includes a skier set to become the nation’s youngest female Winter Paralympian, a Beijing 2022 representative who is ranked firmly within the world’s top 10 in his pet discipline, and a debutante and her sighted guide whose mutual trust has become a hallmark of their performances in the vision impaired classification.

Paralympics Australia proudly announced the team of four skiers and one guide to compete at the Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, which starts on March 6 with the Opening Ceremony at the Verona Arena, paving the way for nine days of intense competition. 

The Para alpine skiing team is (classification in brackets):

• Josh Hanlon (LW12): men’s downhill, combined, giant slalom, slalom and super-G
• Michael Milton (LW2): men’s giant slalom, slalom
• Liana France (LW6/8-2): women’s giant slalom, slalom
• Georgia Gunew and guide Ethan Jackson (AS2): women’s giant slalom, slalom 

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The announcement was made at a special ceremony on Friday in Dobbiaco, Italy, where the team is staging before heading to the Games.

Australian Paralympic Team Chef de Mission Ben Troy said the small but determined team was well prepared by Snow Australia and Paralympics Australia to represent the nation in the highly competitive Para alpine skiing events, which will take place at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina.

“I’m deeply proud of the incredible resilience and commitment each one of these Para skiers has shown to reach the point of being qualified and selected to the Australian Paralympic Team for Milano Cortina,” Troy said. 

“This is an exciting and talented squad with an unprecedented range of experience. Each has confronted major obstacles on their individual pathways to the Games, each has shown the best of Australian spirit and determination, and now they have earned their chance to compete on the biggest stage of all at the Paralympic Games.

“I urge all Australians to get behind this squad of impressive Para skiers as they pursue excellence at the Games and represent Australia with courage, pride and skill.” 

Among the squad named by Paralympics Australia is the nation’s most successful Winter Paralympian Michael Milton who, aged 52 years and 350 days when the Games begins, is set to become the oldest Australian to compete at the Winter Paralympics in the Games’ 50-year history. 

Milton is scheduled to compete in the men’s giant slalom and slalom, completing an extraordinary comeback which started when he announced last October his intention to qualify for what would be his sixth Paralympic Winter Games. 

On the day of the Opening Ceremony, it will have been 7,293 days since Milton last competed at the Winter Paralympics, in Torino in 2006. This extends the previous record of 6,183 days, set by track and field athlete Eliza Stankovic-Mowle between Athens 2004 and Tokyo 2020. Milton also competed in Para cycling at the Beijing 2008 Games.

At the other end of the scale, Liana France, at age 16 and 211 days on March 6, will surpass retired Para alpine skier Melissa Perrine as Australia’s youngest female Winter Paralympian. 

Meanwhile, Josh Hanlon, a former AFL prospect-turned Para alpine sit skier, will compete at his second Games after announcing his arrival with an encouraging sixth placing in the men’s slalom at Beijing 2022. Finally, Georgia Gunew and Ethan Jackson will compete at their first Games, putting to the test their extraordinary teamwork in events for vision impaired athletes. 

Friday’s announcement concluded the unveiling of the Australian Paralympic Team for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games – 12 athletes and two guides across four sports. Earlier this week, Paralympics Australia announced four Para snowboarders (Wednesday) and four Para Nordic athletes plus a sighted guide set to compete in Para biathlon and Para cross-country events, completing Australia’s third largest Winter Paralympic team in history.