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Not much seems to fluster country boy Josh Hanlon. Yet, even by his laconic standards, the last few years in his life have been pretty wild.
“From playing football to getting sick, to learning to ski, going over to Europe and qualifying for the Games – it’s all happened in a couple of years and just each step’s been crazier and crazier,” he said.
On Thursday, day six of Beijing 2022, the next instalment in Hanlon’s great adventure plays out when he makes his first appearance in Paralympic competition, in the Men’s Giant Slalom Sitting.
Other athletes representing Australia on the slopes at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre will be Sam Tait, also in the Sitting category, Mitchell Gourley in the Men’s Giant Slalom Standing and Patrick Jensen and Amelia Hodgson in the Men’s Giant Slalom Vision Impaired. The women’s Giant Slalom takes place the following day.
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Competitive skiing seemed an unthinkable career path for Hanlon growing up at Weethalle in the NSW Central West, about six hours drive from the state’s Snowy Mountains. He was a very handy Australian rules footballer and spent four years involved with the GWS Giants Academy.
When he was 20, Hanlon became a double below-knee amputee and lost his right hand at the wrist due to a bacterial infection. It ruled out footy but presented a range of other opportunities.
“I was down at the start, when I got sick,” he said.
“But as soon as I got out I was just, ‘Let’s get better and find a purpose in life and move on’. I definitely wanted to find a sport, whether it was a wheelchair sport, water sport, running or whatever. I actually had blades made up for running. But then skiing came up and it’s been awesome. You get to see the world, you’re travelling with a team. It’s a really good life.”
Hanlon’s improvement has been quick and he’s determined to see how far he can go in the sport. On his first trip to Europe, just this northern winter, he scored some eye-catching results and, he said, by the time he got to Lillehammer for the World Para Snowsports Championships “everything sort of clicked”, finishing eighth in both the Giant Slalom and Slalom.
“After that I was hoping it would get me over the line [to make the Paralympic team] and then I got some more good results at Are [the final World Cup series event]. I think we were packing to leave Are after the race got cancelled on the last day and I got the email saying I was in the team and rang mum and dad straight away. I think they were more excited than me.
“Once the announcement came through, when we did that video chat online and then all the Instagram stuff, yeah, then it all sort of hit home. Having everyone message and everything was great.”
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Hanlon spent Wednesday morning training with his teammates, adding the final touches to his preparation.
“Every training run I’ve just been trying to dial in the quickest, safest lines I can do, not worrying about times or other people or what times they’re going to be running,” he said. “I’m just trying to focus on my main fundamentals to get me down the hill as quick as I can and as clean as possible and tactical as possible. I want to get aggressive on the course.
“The training has been awesome, the Games have been really fun all around. It’s been really good being up in the Village, rooming with Pat [Jensen] and Sam [Tait]. We have our pantry up there – or the Peking Pantry, as we call it – where we eat. The dining hall’s been fun. It’s been a great experience all round.”
Whatever results Hanlon gains over his two days of racing, he’s already set a clear path for after the Games.
“I’m going to push very hard as soon as we get home to get fitter and stronger and come back and smash it at the next world champs, push hard to get a podium there, for sure.”
Racing starts at 11:30am AEST. All entrants complete two runs on the course. The second session starts at 3:30pm AEST.
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By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 10 March 2022
