Australia at the 1998 Winter Paralympics
| Australia at the 1998 Winter Paralympics |
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| IPC code | AUS | ||||||||
| NPC | Australian Paralympic Committee | ||||||||
| Website | www |
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| in Nagano | |||||||||
| Competitors | 4 in 1 sport | ||||||||
| Flag bearer | James Patterson (Opening) | ||||||||
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Medals Ranked 16th |
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| Winter Paralympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
The 1998 Winter Paralympics were held in Nagano, Japan from the 5–14 March 1998. At these Games, Australia was represented by four male alpine skiers and finished equal 16th (with Denmark) of 21 Nations on the overall medal tally.James Patterson, an LW9 standing skier, won Australia's two medals - one gold and one bronze.
Members of the 1998 Australian Winter Paralympic Team were nominated after a series of training camps and competition at the Disabled WinterSport Australia Nationals held in Mt Hotham, Victoria. The team originally consisted of six alpine skiers.
Men's Slalom LW11
Men's Super-G LW11
1994 Lillehammer
1992 Tignes-Albertville
1994 Lillehammer
Men's Giant Slalom LW1,3,5/7
Men's Slalom LW6/8
Men's Super-G LW1,3,5/7
Men's Super-G LW9
Men's Slalom LW9
Men's Downhill LW1,3,5/7,9
Men's Giant Slalom LW6/8
Men's Slalom LW6/8
Men's Super-G LW6/8
The team was supported by national head coach Steve Bova and managed by Commander Adrian Pay (RAN).
The Australian's began their team training in unsympathetic Australian ski conditions. Once the Australian ski fields proved inadequate for training the team travelled to the northern hemisphere where they spent a significant amount of time training and acclimatising prior to the Nagano Paralympics.
It was during this time that both Rod Hacon and David Munk were forced to withdraw from the Australian team. Munk became seriously ill with a kidney infection and Hacon suffered an freak accident, whilst carrying his ski, severely damaging his hand. The injury required surgery and ongoing treatment. Consequently both experienced Paralympic campaigners withdrew from the team prior to the Games. This was a significant blow for the Australian team as they lost two of their most experienced Paralympians who were both well placed to medal at the Games. James Patterson was the only athlete left in the team with previous Paralympics experience. The Australian Winter Paralympic team was reduced to only four athletes, three of whom who'd never before competed at a Winter Paralympics.
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