Patrick Cooper has eyes for more skiing gold

Ruapehu Bulletin, 3 August 1993, Page 8 (Supplement)

Patrick Cooper has eyes for more skiing gold

New Zealand's top disabled skier for the past six seasons, Patrick Cooper, has achieved something that has eluded even Annelise Coberger - gold in the ultimate event in his sport. At the 1992 Paralympics in Tignes, France, Cooper beat off the challenges of the world 's best disabled skiers to win the Slalom and the Super G, following a silver at the 1988 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. In doing so, this unassuming Ohakune resident showed skiers with physical disabilities can perform within a hair's breadth of top able-bodied athletes. His accomplishment is such that he is one of the few disabled skiers in the world to hold an FIS (International Ski Federation) licence to ski against able-bodied racers. Despite being a below-the-knee amputee in one leg and skiing with a prosthesis, Cooper's performances against all-comers

on the New Zealand ablebodied ski circuit have caused a stir among ablebodied racers. His feats and those of fellow members of the New Zealand Disabled Ski Team, are giving the sport a new profile in the New Zealand sporting scene. Last year, for example, Cooper was pipped only by Annelise Coberger for the 'New Zealand Skier of the Year Award'. The challenge for the team, winner of 45 medals on the 1992/93 US disabled ski circuit, is how to repeat - let alone surpass - their past achievements. The moment of truth will come on the slopes of Lillehammer, Norway in March next year. There, immediately following the Winter Olympics, the world's best disabled athletes gather to contest the Paralympics. Ironically, the team's biggest challenge will be in getting to Norway in the first place.

Typically, around 75 per cent of the funding for international campaigns comes from the skiers' own pockets. Since New Zealand disabled skiers began making their mark in the early 1980's, international travel has meant sleeping three to a room with mattresses on the floor. In late June, however, the team received news that will help ensure that it won't be lack of sleep that keeps them from the top. Steinlager Blue has launched a communitybased initiative called 'Blue for GokT in which 10 cents per litre of Steinlager Blue sold in more than 100 outlets around New Zealand will raise funds to get the team to Norway. Up to $30,000 may be raised by the initiative, making it far and away the biggest financial boost the team has ever received. The team will be selected after the Disabled Skiing

Nationals at Wanaka's Cardrona Skifield from August 8-12. So, with the prospect of enough money to train in the United States through Christmas time and on to Lillehammer in the New j Year, how does the team see it's chances? "Everybody who goes to Norway will be a prospect - it's just a matter of who gets out of bed on the right side and has the right mental attitude," Cooper says. It's this mental attitude * that has driven him to spend the seven years until 1992 without seeing the summer sun. "I got a bit tired of it and so had two summers in a row, ... to recharge the batteries and then back into skiing again," he says. With his batteries recharged and with the prospect of funds to help get him and his team-mates to Lillehammer, Cooper yet again has the glint of gold in his eyes.