James Paterson (skier)
Australian Paralympic skier (born 1970)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Lawrence Paterson, OAM[1] is an Australian Paralympic skier who has cerebral palsy.[2]
Australian medallist James Paterson at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | James Lawrence Paterson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 January 1970 West Wyalong NSW | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal life
Paterson was from Terrigal, New South Wales and a marine mechanic for Halvorsen Boats.[3] After the 1994 Games, Paterson thanked the Terrigal community and his employer for supporting his overseas preparation.[3]
Skiing career
At the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Paralympics, Paterson competed in four events and won a silver medal in the Men's Downhill LW9 event and a bronze medal in the Men's Giant Slalom LW9 event.[4] In 1996, at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, he won a silver medal and two bronze medals.[5] At the 1998 Winter Paralympics, he was team captain and competed in four events. He won a gold medal in the Men's Downhill LW1,3,5/7,9 event and a bronze medal in the Men's Slalom LW9 event[6] Between 1997 and 1999, he was an Australian Institute of Sport Athlete with a Disability scholarship holder.[7] His last major international competition was the 2000 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, where he won a silver medal in the Men's Giant Slalom LW1,3,7,7,9. He announced his retirement in June 2001 citing his lost passion and the cost of competing on his family and finances.[8]
Recognition
In 2000, Paterson received an Australian Sports Medal.[9] In 2008, he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition for being a medallist at Paralympics and Disabled World Ski Championships.[1] He has been inducted into the Central Coast Sporting Hall of Fame.[10]
Paterson is married to Martina, and has two children, Emily and Cameron.[11]
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