Source : ABC NEWS
Ben Tudhope and Georgia Gunew will be Australia’s flag-bearers at the Paralympic Winter Games opening ceremony.
The ceremony will be held at the Verona Arena on Saturday morning AEDT, with the Paralympics running until March 15.
Tudhope is competing at his fourth Winter Paralympics. His bronze in para snowboard was Australia’s only medal at the 2022 Beijing Games.
The 26-year-old is the first Australian winter Paralympian or Olympian to win 50 World Cup medals.
At 14, he was youngest competitor from any country at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi.
“Something that I love about the Paralympics, and being here, is that your disability is the last thing that matters,” Tudhope said.
“You walk around the village, you walk around the venues, and no-one cares if you have one leg or if you’re blind or anything like that.
“We are elite sportspeople and we just want to do the best we can in our sport.”
Gunew will be making her Paralympic debut in para alpine skiing and will have Ethan Jackson as her guide.
The honour comes eight years after Gunew was forced to give up hockey because of her diminishing vision.
“If you’d asked 15-year-old Georgia if this was possible … this wasn’t even a thought, not even a possibility,” Gunew said of being named a flag-bearer.
“So, if you told her this, she wouldn’t have believed you.
“Being here, in this position, it is just such an honour. There isn’t another word for it. I really can’t believe I’m here and my thoughts aren’t super straight right now because it’s just so exciting.”
AAP
