Winter Paralympics: Ben Tudhope named Australian flagbearer for second time; Ukraine’s incredible feat
The International Paralympic Committee has revealed its pledge to the Ukrainian team following its incredible medal tally finish.
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The International Paralympic Committee will work closely with the Ukrainian delegation to ensure its safety after the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, revealed IPC president Andrew Parsons.
Speaking ahead of the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Parsons linked Ukrainian athletes’ performances at the 2022 games with the genesis of the Paralympic Movement in a post-WWII world.
Despite arriving in Beijing less than 72 hours before the first events of the Winter Paralympics, Ukraine dominated the Para-biathlon and cross-country skiing disciplines to finish second on the overall medal tally behind only hosts China.
“To compete here at such a high level knowing their family and nation is under attack is just incredible. It’s one of the most incredible displays of resilience I’ve ever seen in my life, in or outside of sport,” Parsons said.
“I can only express my admiration. I’m not sure I could do the same as they are doing here. But because they have the heart of an athlete, the heart of a Paralympian, they’re able to do this.”
Parsons said the IPC would work closely with the Ukraine NPC as focus shifts to Paris 2024 and how athletes will be affected by the ongoing Russian invasion.
“We don’t want to disclose plans at the moment because it may impact their security and it will reveal some of the measures we’re taking with them and their whereabouts after this. We don’t want to go into details,” he said.
Parsons and the IPC Governing Board came under fire before the Beijing Games for first voting to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Winter Paralympics, before backflipping on that decision just 12 hours later.
“No one can be happy with the outcome to not allow anyone. Any reason is not good. When we made two decisions on two consecutive days, we wanted the Games to be viable,” Parsons said.
“(But) it was imperative that we changed our decision. We don’t like when politics mix with sports, but we have our limits.
“When we have a situation of war, like we’re facing now in Europe, it’s sometimes impossible to separate sport from the rest of the world. This was one example. We needed to take some action.
“What’s happening in Ukraine and Europe would have an impact on our event. We don’t want politics to drive the world of sport and we’ll keep trying to separate.
“The magnitude of the situation in Europe, it was not possible to do that in this specific situation.”
Sole Aussie Paralympian medallist huge reward
Australian co-captain Ben Tudhope will carry the flag for his country at the Beijing Winter Paralympics closing ceremony.
It will be the Manly local’s second time as a closing ceremony flag bearer, following on from Sochi in 2014 when a 14-year-old Tudhope earned the honour as Australia’s youngest-ever Winter Paralympian.
Tudhope, who with one day of competition to run has won Australia’s only medal of the games so far — bronze in the Snowboard Cross — said it was an honour come full circle after eight years of growth on the world Para-snowboard circuit.
“To finish off my Beijing campaign with this achievement, to be Australian flag bearer is incredible,” the 22-year-old said.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to finish the games, after the bronze, after everything the team has been through, I’m proud to be an Aussie and proud to be on this team.
“Back when I was 14 it was a true surprise — in the moment it was about the experience. I think being a bit bigger (now) and learning what the Paralympic Movement is about and really knowing everything about the Aussie team and who has come before me, it’s a true honour this time and I know the true responsibility it means to hold the flag and represent Australia.”
Australia Chef de Mission Kate McLaughlin shared the news with Tudhope on Saturday afternoon soon after he was reunited with his Australian teammates at the athletes’ village in Yanqing.
She said Tudhope had earned his second go-around and would be “a pretty popular choice” among both the Australian team and community.
“Ben is an athlete who I think everyone has seen in the past couple of weeks is not only a champion athlete but he’s also just a pretty amazing Australian,” McLoughlin said.
“The way he speaks, his gratitude to his coaches, to his team and the way he feels so proud to be an Australian Paralympian, I just think it exemplifies everything that’s amazing about Australian Paralympic sport.
“A two-time flag bearer but thoroughly deserved in every single way.”
Paralympian’s push for sexual revolution
Athletes at Beijing’s Winter Paralympics are not just breaking down sports barriers on the slopes and ice — Argentinian skier Enrique Plantey is pushing for a bedroom revolution.
The 39-year-old and his non-disabled Spanish girlfriend Triana Serfaty have published a practical guidebook called “Sexistimos” — a nod to the Spanish term for “we exist” — about disability and sex.
They hope it sparks an open conversation on what is a difficult topic for many. “People are afraid to talk openly about it,” Plantey, who is a paraplegic, told AFP.
“The main problem is that many people with a disability think they can no longer have a sex life and give pleasure, and this is not the case,” added Plantey, who came fourth in the giant slalom alpine skiing sitting category.
Some people living with disabilities experience anxiety about sex — such as whether a partner will find them attractive, pain issues, concerns about fertility and a lack of confidence.
For some there’s also worries about logistical issues such as getting from a wheelchair into a bed.
Society often considers people with physical or intellectual disabilities as “non-sexual” — many live in isolation and don’t have long-term romantic partners, according to Disabled World, an independent organisation that provides health resources.
But there are signs that attitudes are changing. The issue broke new ground when Hollywood actor Helen Hunt starred in 2012 film The Sessions, about a polio survivor’s quest to lose his virginity with the help of a sex surrogate.
Dating websites specifically for people with disabilities are also helping many find romance.
Plantey, a three-time Paralympian, has used a wheelchair since sustaining a spinal cord injury as an 11-year-old.
Growing up he lamented a lack of information and resources about how to have a healthy sex life as a young man using a wheelchair.
He uses Viagra but does not have sensations below his waist. Nevertheless, he said it was possible to “find sources of pleasure in all parts of the body, not just the genitals”.
Serfaty said it was important couples try to communicate honestly about their practical needs and desires, without fear, judgment or embarrassment.
“This information exists. The problem is that it is often not disseminated,” said the 29-year-old.
Some medical professionals were giving people with disabilities incorrect information about sex function, Serfaty noted.
“His doctor had told him he couldn’t have sex,” she said.
“But since he got to know his body, he realised that wasn’t true. You have to see for yourself what you’re capable of. No one can decide for you.” The couple have turned to Tantric sex techniques and their book and corresponding Instagram account draws on their personal experiences.
Argentina’s flag-bearer said the couple’s efforts to promote the topic of sex and disabilities was paying off — generating a lot of interest in the Athletes’ Village in Beijing.
“Many in the Paralympic village come to me to talk about sex and ask questions,” Plantey said.
“Just the other day, someone — I won’t say who — came to find me, in front of my room, to ask me for Viagra,” he laughed.
AUSTRALIA IN DANGER OF WORST RESULT IN 34 YEARS
Callum Dick
Australia is on the brink of its worst Winter Paralympics medal haul since 1988 after Para-snowboarder Ben Tudhope missed the podium in the Men’s Banked Slalom SBLL-2 on Friday.
The Aussie co-captain had previously won Australia’s first and so-far only medal of the 2022 Games in the Snowboard Cross on Monday and was considered an equal chance in the Banked Slalom.
But the Paralympic course offered little favours to the Aussie, who managed to improve his time from the opening run but ultimately finished ninth.
“Not the result I wanted, my worst result of the season, but I can’t be disappointed,” Tudhope said.
“I sent it on that second run, I tried to go as hard as I could and do a few different things but it wasn’t enough to get on the podium.
“I was feeling great, I was really ready to compete and I do like the course but it definitely doesn’t suit my (strengths).
“For Banked Slalom I love a really tight course that is quite steep where you have to maintain your speed and here, the Paralympic course is awesome … but just a bit too open (for me). Something I need to work on is how to gain speed out of turns, and so for the next four years that’s got to be what I’m doing.”
China’s Sun Qi — the man who Tudhope beat-out for bronze in the Snowboard Cross – produced a massive boil over to claim gold ahead of Finland’s Matti Suur-Harami and Ollie Hill of Great Britain.
The course played perfectly to the strengths of the hometown hopeful, who prior to Beijing had rarely featured near the pointy end of international competition.
With Tudhope’s Games now over, Australia’s best hope of a second medal falls on the shoulders of retiring four-time Paralympian Mel Perrine.
The 34 year old, who won bronze in the Giant Slalom and Super-Combined in PyeongChang, will race for the final time on Saturday in the Women’s Slalom Vision Impaired.
Perrine finished fourth in the same event in PyeongChang but enters as an outside medal hope at best after a Covid and injury-interrupted lead-in to her final Winter Paralympics.
Rae Anderson, Mitch Gourley, Patrick Jensen and Josh Hanlon will also compete in their respective Slalom classifications on Saturday and Sunday, though none are favoured to medal.
If Tudhope’s bronze remains Australia’s only medal of the 2022 Games, it will be our worst tally since a team of five failed to feature on the podium at Innsbruck in 1988.
“It’s been a really tough build-up and that’s exactly what it is; the preparation going into it was definitely altered for us,” Tudhope said.
“You’ve got countries in Europe and America who can train all winter so when we’ve been stuck in Australia for the past two years, they’ve just been progressing and getting better and better.
“I think Australia has done a really good job … and I’m sure we will do a lot better in years to come.”
With at least two, possibly three Winter Paralympics still ahead of him, Tudhope urged young Australians with disability to give Para-snow sports ahead of Milan-Cortina 2026.
“I hope how we showcased our sports has inspired so many other athletes and other people to come into Paralympic snowboarding in Australia and around the world. I do not want to be the youngest on the team at 26 in Italy – I’ve done that three times now, and I want new blood in (the team),” he said.
“It’s been an absolute honour to be team captain. I (want to) thank Australia, our Paralympic team for picking me at a young age, and I hope to lead this team for many more years to come if Australia will let me.”
DANGEROUS POLLUTION LEVELS PLAGUE GAMES
Callum Dick
Air pollution at the Winter Paralympics is approaching levels three-times the benchmark for concern with an Australian team doctor comparing the competition conditions to those produced by bushfires back home.
Paralympics Australia chief medical officer Dr Steve Reid told News Corp his team had been closely monitoring the Air Quality Index (AQI) and Particulate Matter (PM) levels since arriving in China and both had risen drastically since Tuesday.
“Once it gets above 50 we start to be concerned about people performing outdoor exercise for long periods. Today in Yanqing, the PM2.5 is around 130,” Dr Reid said.
PM2.5 refers to particulate matter that is two and a half microns in width, or roughly 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
“The bigger stuff (PM5, PM10) gets filtered through the nasal passages and upper airways and the really small stuff (PM2.5) gets down into the small airways and causes things like broncho constriction, airway inflammation and asthma, so it’s the 2.5 that we pay most attention to,” Dr Reid said.
“If you’re an asthmatic they can trigger asthma, but if you’re someone who doesn’t normally get asthma, if the air is polluted enough then you can get nasty respiratory symptoms – and even if you don’t develop respiratory symptoms, if you’re exercising outdoors in a consistent fashion, your performance (can be) blunted and you lose that performance edge.
“A PM2.5 of 130-140 would be something (that might occur) in Australia (during) bush fires – those might be the times we see those numbers being reached and when we might be cancelling outdoor sporting events.”
At Yanqing, close to where Australians Mel Perrine and Rae Anderson competed in the Women’s Giant Slalom on Friday, the AQI topped 158. It was a similar story in Chongli for Ben Tudhope in the Para-snowboarding, where the PM2.5 hit 156 prior to his first run in the Banked Slalom.
The tell tale toxic fog first descended on the Winter Paralympics on Wednesday, which led Dr Reid to send a message to athletes and team officials warning them to keep windows closed and limit time spent outdoors.
He said air filtration units left behind by the AOC were being used by staff and athletes in the village to drastically lower the PM2.5 levels while indoors, and direction had been given to limit exposure where possible.
“You can’t take away from the fact that this sport that’s practised outdoors and (in) winter sports, what they have to do is just be efficient with their work,” Dr Reid said of the Australian athletes.
“Thankfully we’re not dealing with cross-country skiing (which) on a day like today there would be much more concern.
“I think those would be the sports where you would have a higher level of concern … you can expect their overall performances will be compromised by performing endurance sport in those conditions.
“We’re dealing with downhill athletes where they have a really intense effort over a couple of minutes. So it’s very much a matter of: inspect the course, (do) a couple of warm-up runs, into the lounge, do your competition, back to the lounge, recover, and get home.”
Dr Reid said a number of members of the Australian delegation were managing asthma symptoms while in China, adding there had so far not been “any major problems”.
“We’re just really getting them to increase their preventive medication, which is really something that counters any inflammation, and making sure they increase those while they’re here,” he said.
“We haven’t had any major problems but I know even myself, just being outside the other day I was aware that my eyes were stringing a bit.”
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