Ben Tudhope

Ben Tudhope
Ben Tudhope in 2021
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (1999-12-13) 13 December 1999 (age 24)
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportPara-snowboarding
Disability classSB-LL
Medal record
Men's para snowboard
Representing  Australia
Winter Paralympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Beijing Snowboard cross SB-LL2
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Pyha Snowboard Cross
Silver medal – second place 2021 Lillehammer Snowboard Cross
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Lillehammer Dual Banked Slalom
Gold medal – first place 2023 La Molina Snowboard Cross
Bronze medal – third place 2023 La Molina Dual Banked Slalom
Winter X Games
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Aspen Snowboarder X Adaptive

Ben Tudhope (born 13 December 1999) is an Australian Paralympian who has competed in para-snowboard cross at three Winter Paralympics 2014 to 2022. His selection at the age of 14 at the 2014 Winter Paralympics meant that he became Australia's youngest Winter Paralympian, replacing Michael Milton. He was the youngest competitor at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games from any country. He also competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. At the 2022 Winter Paralympics, he won the bronze medal in the Men's Snowboard Cross SB-LL2.[1]

Personal

Ben Tudhope was born with cerebral palsy due to a lack of oxygen to the brain during his birth and damage caused to the white matter in his brain, which caused hemiplegia on the left side of his body and damage connecting nerve tissue vital for movement.[2][3] He lives in Manly, a suburb of Sydney, and attended the Sydney Church of England Grammar School.[4] He has undertaken a Bachelor of Management – Sport Business at the University of Technology Sydney.[5]

Career

At 14, Tudhope carried the flag for Australia in the Closing Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 winter Paralympics.

Tudhope's older sister Annabel introduced him to snowboarding in 2009.[4] Annabel has competed on the World Snowboard Tour, and his other sister Phoebe has competed for Australia in mogul skiing.[5] His Winter Paralympics path began in 2011 when Peter Baff, the head coach of Perisher's Winter Sports Club alerted Peter Higgins, Australia's Paralympic snowboard team head coach, of his ability even though he was not tall.[3]

In 2014, Tudhope was 150 centimetres (4 ft 11 in) tall, and his French-made snowboard is 141 centimetres (56 in) long. Ben competed in the 2013 European Cup to qualify for the 2014 Winter Paralympics. Due to his age, his mother Melissa has accompanied him to overseas competitions.[3] He trains at Perisher Ski Resort, and undertakes dryland training at Monster Skatepark in the Sydney suburb of Homebush.[6] In 2013, he was an Amelia McGuiness Australian Snowsports Development Foundation scholarship holder.[7]

Tudhope's selection for the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi at the age of 14 meant that he became Australia's youngest Winter Paralympian, replacing Mitchell Gourley.[4]

Ben Tudhope in the banked Snowboard event at the 2018 winter Paralympics.

He was the youngest competitor at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games from any country.[8] He finished 10th out of 33 competitors in the Men's Para-snowboard Cross, and was chosen to carry the Australian flag at the closing ceremony.[8]

In 2017, Tudhope became part of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program which included him being mentored by former Australian rugby union captain Nick Farr-Jones.[9]

The medallists of the SB-LL2 snowboard cross event at the 2022 Beijing winter Paralympics. L-R: Garrett Geros (USA), silver; Matti Suur-Hamari (Finland) gold; and Ben Tudhope (Australia) bronze.

At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, Tudhope finished seventh in the banked slalom SB-LL2 and tenth in the snowboard cross SB-LL2.[10][11]

At the 2019 World Para Snowboard Championships, Pyha, Finland, Tudhope won the silver medal in Men's Snowboard Cross LL2 and finished fourth in the Men's Banked Slalom LL2.[12]

Tudhope won the silver medal in the men's snowboard cross SB-LL2 and bronze medal in the men's dual banked slalom SB-LL2 event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway.[13][14][15]

At the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, Tudhope won the bronze medal in the men's snowboard cross SB-LL2 and finished ninth in the men's snowboard banked slalom SB-LL2 event.[16][17]

Tudehope won the gold medal in the Men's Snowboard Cross SB-LL2 and bronze medal in the Men's Dual Banked Snowboard SB-LL2 at the 2023 World Para Snowboard Championships held at La Molina.[18]

At the end of the 2023/2024 season, Tudhope was second on the overall banked slalom and cross standings. He was second on the Para Snowboard Overall World Cup standings. [19]

Recognition

  • 2014 - Flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony at the 2014 Winter Paralympics.
  • 2019 – Sport NSW Young Athlete of the Year with a Disability[20]
  • 2020 – Crystal Globe as the overall SB-LL2 Snowboard Cross 2019–20 season Champion and the Crystal Globe as the most successful Para Snowboard athlete across all disciplines[21]
  • 2020 – Snow Australia Paralympic Athlete of the Year[22]
  • 2021 – Snow Australia Paralympic Athlete of the Year[23]
  • 2022 – Crystal Globe as the overall SB-LL2 Snowboard Cross 2021–22 season Champion and the Crystal Globe as the most successful Para Snowboard athlete across all disciplines.[21]
  • 2022 – Joint Team Captain with Melissa Perrine of Australian Team at 2022 Winter Paralympics[24]
  • 2022 - Flag bearer at Closing Ceremony at 2022 Winter Paralympics[25]
  • 2022 – Snow Australia Paralympic Athlete of the Year[26]
  • 2022 - Paralympics Australia Male Athlete of the Year[27]
  • 2022 - New South Wales Institute of Sport Male Athlete of the Year[28]
  • 2022 - Australian Institute of Sport Male Para-athlete of The Year[29]
  • 2023 - Snow Australia Paralympic Male Athlete of the Year[30]
  • 2024 - Snow Australia Paralympic Male Athlete of the Year[31]

References

  1. ^ "Australian Paralympic Team Named For Beijing 2022 Winter Games". Paralympics Australia. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Ben Tudhope". Australian Paralympic Committee Athlete Profiles. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Kemp, Emma. "Youngster targeting a spot on Sochi team". Megaform, 20 November 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Cowley, Rowan (5 February 2014). "Shore student Ben Tudhope Australia's youngest winter Paralympian at 14". Mosman Daily. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Ben Tudhope". International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing Profiles. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  6. ^ "13-year-old Ben Tudhope aims for Sochi". Mountain Watch. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  7. ^ "The AMASDF 2013 Scholarship Holders". NSW Snow Sports. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  8. ^ a b Paxinos, Stathi (17 March 2014). "Sochi Winter Paralympics end in style". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Teen stars receive guidance from Hall of Fame members". Sport Australia Hall of Fame website. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Australian Paralympic Winter Team for PyeongChang 2018 announced". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Ben Tudhope". 2018 Winter Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  12. ^ "SSA Weekend Wrap | 1 April". Ski and Snowboard Australia website. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Canada's Tyler Turner beats 'best of the best' for first World Championships gold". 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  14. ^ Burke, Patrick (21 January 2022). "Pedersen clinches third gold of World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  15. ^ Houston, Michael (14 January 2022). "United States win three snowboard golds at World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. ^ Burke, Patrick (7 March 2022). "Hernandez takes snowboard cross gold at Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Snowboarding Results Book" (PDF). 2022 Winter Paralympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Results". 2023 World Para Snowboard Championships (FIS) website. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Small But Mighty Team Wrap Up Snow Season On A High | Paralympics Australia". www.paralympic.org.au. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Perry And Parker Headline NSW Sports Awards Success". Sport NSW website. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Ben Tudhope Wins Crystal Globe As Overall Para Snowboard Season Champion". Snow Australia. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Tudhope wins Paralympic Athlete of the Year Award". Paralympics Australia website. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Snow Australia awards celebrates past and present champions". Snow Australia website. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  24. ^ Sygall, David (18 February 2022). "Australian Paralympic Winter Team Captains Appointed Via Surprise Call". Paralympics Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Snowboard Medallist Tudhope Named Closing Ceremony Flag Bearer". Paralympics Australia. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony And Paralympic Bronze Medalist Ben Tudhope Claim 2022 Snow Australia Athlete Of The Year Awards". Snow Australia. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  27. ^ "De Rozario And Tudhope Earn Top Honours at Paralympics Australia Awards". Paralympics Australia. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  28. ^ "NSWIS Award Winners Announced". New South Wales Institute of Sport. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  29. ^ "Jessica Stenson and Athletics among big winners at AIS Sport Performance Awards". Australian Sports Commission. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  30. ^ "CRYSTAL GLOBE WINNERS & WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALLISTS CELEBRATED AT 2023 SNOW AWARDS". Snow Australia. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  31. ^ Australia, Snow. "History-making season celebrated at Snow Australia Awards". www.snow.org.au. Retrieved 6 May 2024.