Aussies perform strongly ahead of Paralympics
Published Thu 05 Feb 2026
Australia’s Ben Tudhope claimed an exciting silver medal at the World Cup at Big White, while team mate Sean Pollard finished fourth.
The Australian duo was met with challenging and wild conditions, but put in strong performances with just over a month to go until the Paralympics.
“It’s nice to be back on the boardercross podium,” Tudhope said.
“I always look forward to coming to the Big White event. The whole race was pretty wild from the start. I just scraped through to the big final with a photo finish in the semis.
“A competitor hit my tail and went down going into a tight turn one. I made a few mistakes on the second half of the course and couldn’t keep the lead. Still happy to cross the line unharmed and safe, in a pretty good position.
“I’m also so stoked for Sean Pollard for getting fourth on the second day of Big White. He smashed it racing, so watch out for him.”
Pollard was thrilled with his performance, his best FIS result since coming out of retirement in pursuit of another Paralympic Games berth.
“Really proud to get a fourth in the Big White,” Pollard said.
“It has been a long time since I was riding for medals in big finals, so I’m stoked to get back there and make it through after some good racing.
“The conditions of Big White were challenging, there was lots of variable visibility, the fog was coming in, the snow was coming in, the race got postponed then put back on.
“It was challenging, but I managed to make it through, which is really pleasing.”
The results were a real positive sign for the Australian athletes with just over a month to go until the Paralympics. Handling tough conditions will put them in good stead for whatever the Games will throw at them.
“We’ve only had two SBX events this year,” Tudhope said.
“I’ve had some unfortunate races before but that’s racing for you. This is a definite confidence boost coming to the end of season.
“We are heading to the Steamboat US for the last Banked Slalom World Cup then back over to Europe for the final staging camp before the big one.”
