Australia at the 1998 Winter Paralympics

The 1998 Winter Paralympics were held in Nagano, Japan from 5–14 March 1998. At the Games, Australia was represented by four male alpine skiers. Australia tied for 16th place with Denmark, out of 21 Nations on the overall medal tally. James Patterson, an LW9 standing skier, won Australia's two medals - one gold and one bronze.

After performances at the Nagano 1998 Winter Paralympic Games, together with several world championships, Australia's reputation as a leading Paralympic nation increased considerably.

Background of Nagano Paralympics

The 1998 Winter Paralympics were held alongside the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. This was the first Paralympic Winter Games to be held outside of Europe. This was the highest number of athletes competing at any Winter Paralympics.

The games consisted of four sports: alpine skiing, ice sledge, hockey and Nordic skiing/cross country. Australia competed in alpine skiing. The Australian Nordic skier, Colin Scott, did not succeed in making the selection.

The Team

Members of the 1998 Australian Winter Paralympic Team were nominated after a series of dry-land and on-snow training camps, and competition at the Disabled Winter Sport Australia Nationals held in Mt. Hotham, Victoria. Because of poor snow conditions during the Australian winter, this made the selection and preparations difficult. The selection of the team was based on results from the Australian National Championships, which were held in August. All athletes had to satisfy a requirement to be selected, by attaining times equal to or better than the eight place-getter in the 1996 World Championships in their respective class. The final selection were hold in North America, with trials in January.

The team originally consisted of six alpine skiers, which included James Paterson, Matthew Nicholls, Alistair Mars, David Munk, Rod Hacon and Anthony Bonaccurso. The team consisted of a blend of experienced skiers such as James Patterson, Rod Hacon and David Munk, who were all experienced Paralympic athletes, while the three others were new to the team. Together as a team, they wanted to repeat the outstanding success of the Australian team in Lillehammer in 1994.

The team were reduced after Michael Milton's retirement, and Michael Norton's death. The loss of the two athletes from the team left a big hole in Alpine skiing in Australia. Because of this, it was therefore a huge disappointment for the Australian winter Paralympics team when both Rod Hacon and David Munk had to withdraw before the 1998 Winter Paralympics even started.

The team was supported by national head coach Steve Bova and managed by Commander Adrian Pay (RAN).

Notable Team Members

James Patterson was born in Terrigal, in New South Wales, and diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He was working as a marine mechanic for Halvorsen Boats. They supported his preparation overseas before the 1994 Games, and the 1998 Games. Along with competing at the 1998 Winter Paralympics, he also competed at the 1994 Winter Paralympics. At the 1996 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, he won a silver medal and two bronze medals. As a representative for Australia at the 1998 Winter Paralympics, where he was team captain, he competed in four events. Winning a gold medal in the Men's Downhill LW9, and a bronze medal in the Men's Slalom LW9. He also went on to win a silver medal at the 2000 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in the Men's Giant Slalom LW9. When both Munk and Hacon had to withdraw, it was important for the Australian team that an experienced skier could take the responsibility as the team captain. Later James Paterson was awarded Order of Australia in recognition for being a medallist at Paralympics, and in the Disabled World Ski Championships. He also received an Australian Sports Medal because of his great performances.

Games Preparation

As a part of making the team perform their very best, the aim of the revised 1997-2000 Paralympic Preparation Program is to provide Australia's Paralympic Athletes with the support and help needed, so they can perform to their fully potential at both 1998 Nagano and 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games.

The plan was that the team should be headed by the experienced Chef de Mission Nick Dean, and General manager Adrian Pay.

The Winter Paralympics team did not have a coach at all until a couple of months before the Games. The team finally got the Canadian Steve Bova as their coach, who did a great job in such a short time.