Mitchell Gourley

Mitchell Gourley (born 2 June 1991) is an Australian Paralympic alpine skier who competed for Australia in the downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and super combined events at four Winter Paralympics - 2010 to 2022. He was Australian team co-captain with Joany Badenhorst at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.[1] At the 2022 Winter Paralympics, he and Melissa Perrine carried the Australian flag in the opening ceremony.[2] At the 2017 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy he won the gold medal in the men's Super Combined Standing.

Mitchell Gourley
Mitchell Gourley in April 2021
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born (1991-06-02) 2 June 1991
Geelong, Victoria
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportPara-alpine skiing
Disability classLW6/8
Event(s)Downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, super combined
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals2010 Winter Paralympics, 2014 Winter Paralympics
Medal record
Alpine skiing
IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships
Gold medal – first place2017 Tarvisio, ItalyMen's Super Combined Standing
Bronze medal – third place2019 Kranjska Gora, SloveniaMen's slalom Standing

Personal

Mitchell Gourley was born just outside Geelong, Victoria, on 2 June 1991.[3][4][5] He was born a congenital amputee, with his left forearm ending a few inches below his elbow.[6] Mitchell can move the tiny stump of his forearm and uses it to hold and manipulate objects by gripping them in his elbow. He plays a variety of sports including cricket, Australian rules football, basketball, road cycling and rock-climbing.[3] He attended at Geelong College.[7] In 2014, he completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Melbourne and in 2019 completed a Master of Business (Sport Management) at Deakin University.[8][9]

Skiing

Gourley became involved in high level Paralympic skiing as a result of Australian talent identification efforts,[10] taking up the sport competitively in 2002 as an eleven-year-old.[3] He was classified as LW6/8-2,[11] the classification for athletes with an impairment to one arm,[12] and made his Australian national team début in 2006, as a fifteen-year-old.[3] He has held scholarships with the Victorian Institute of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport.[13]

At the 2009 Norm Cup, Gourley finished first in the men's standing class giant slalom event.[14] In the same year, he competed in the IPC Alpine Skiing Nor Am Cup in Colorado.[14] He was officially named to the Australian 2010 Winter Paralympics team in November 2009.[15] A ceremony was held in Canberra with Australian Paralympic Committee president Greg Hartung and Minister for Sport Kate Ellis making the announcement.[16]

Mitchell Gourley competing in the super-G during the second day of the 2012 IPC Nor Am Cup at Copper Mountain

Gourley competed at the 2010 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Italy and World Cup in Austria.[14] Going into the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games, his best ever world ranking was 17th.[3] He attempted to bulk up and put on additional weight by eating six to eight meals a day.[7] He arrived in the Paralympic village with the rest of Australia's Para-alpine team on 9 March 2010.[17] Coached by Steve Graham,[3] he competed in the downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and super combined events.[18][19] In the super-G standing event, he finished 10th.[4][20] He also finished 27th in the slalom.[21][22][23] He came 30th in the giant slalom event.[24]

Gourley talks to the media after a race at Sochi 2014 Paralympics

At the December 2011 IPC Nor Am Cup, Gourley won his first gold medal in international competition in the giant slalom,[25] but was beaten by New Zealand's Adam Hall and Australian teammate Toby Kane in the slalom.[26] He competed at a February 2012 World Cup event in Italy in the slalom, but did not place in the event. After sitting in fourth place after his first run, he missed a gate in his second run and was disqualified.[27] He won a gold medal in the giant slalom with a combined run time of 2:03.15, 0.43 seconds faster than the silver medallists. It was the first gold medal he had won at a World Cup.[25]

Gourley started the 2013/14 World Cup season with strong results, with two gold, three silver and one bronze medal.[11] At the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, he competed in five events. He finished 5th in the men's super combined standing, 7th in the men's downhill standing, and failed to finish in three events.[28][29]

At the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Panorama, Canada, Gourley competed in five Men's Standing events. He finished fourth in the giant slalom and fifth in the Super-G.[30]

Gourley competes in the SuperG event at the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics

He finished the 2015/16 World Cup season on a high, placing third on the overall rankings after a successful run of events that saw him podium nine times.[31]

Gourley won the gold medal in the men's Super Combined Standing at the 2017 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy. Gourley was in sixth place after the super-G, but put on a masterclass in the slalom to secure the gold.[32]

His results at the 2018 Winter Paralympics, his third Games, were: fifth in the men's Super Combined Standing, sixth in the men's slalom Standing, eighth in the men's giant slalom Standing, 12th in the men's Super-G Standing and did not finish in the men's Downhill Standing.[33][34]

At the 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, he won the bronze medal in Men's slalom Standing and finished fourth in the men's giant slalom Standing.[35]

At the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, he finished 10th in the giant slalom Standing, 13th in Super Combined Standing and 20th in Downhill Standing. He did not finish in the slalom Standing and Super G Standing.[36] Gourley indicated that the Beijing Games would be his last Winter Paralympics.

In 2022, he is a member of the Athlete Commission for World Para Alpine Skiing and Paralympics Australia Athlete Commission.[37]

Recognition

References
  1. "Australian Paralympic Team Named For Beijing 2022 Winter Games". Paralympics Australia. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  2. "Full Circle For Australia's Beijing 2022 Flagbearers | Paralympics Australia". Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  3. "Mitchell Gourley". Vancouver 2010. 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  4. "Aussies off the pace in super-G – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 20 March 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  5. McDonald, Margie (15 March 2012). "Speedster Marty Mayberry lifts hopes of medal". Australia: The Australian. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  6. "Mitchell Gourley". YouTube 2013. 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  7. "Geelong Winter Paralympian has weight on his mind". Geelong Advertiser. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  8. "Mitchell Gourley". Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  9. "James goes back-to-back". Victorian Institute of Sport website. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  10. "Disabled Wintersport Australia 2010 Annual Report" (PDF). Australia: Disabled Wintersport Australia. 2010. p. 7. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  11. "Mitchell Gourley". Australian Paralympic Committee Athlete Profile. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  12. "2014 Australian Paralympic Winter Team Media Guide" (PDF). Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  13. Ellis, Kate (11 March 2010). "Winter Paralympians to inspire a nation" (PDF). Australia. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  14. "Geelong paralympian Mitch Gourley wins Canadian call up – Local News – Geelong, VIC, Australia". Geelongadvertiser.com.au. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  15. "Paralympic Team for Vancouver sprinkled with experience". Australia: The Australian. 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  16. Browning, Jennifer (25 November 2009). "Winter Paralympics team biggest yet". Australia: ABC Grandstand Sport. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  17. McDonald, Margie (8 March 2010). "Australian assault on Paralympics takes shape in Vancouver". The Australian. Australia. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  18. "Features | Twenty Ten | Following Australian & New Zealand Winter Athletes by Mountainwatch". Mountainwatch. 3 February 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  19. Lulham, Amanda (18 March 2010). "A battle against bugs and breaks". The Courier Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 79. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  20. "WEEKEND SCOREBOARD". The Australian. Australia. 22 March 2010. p. 40. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  21. "Rahles-Rahbula wins Paralympics bronze". Wwos.ninemsn.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  22. "Slalom bronze for Rahles-Rahbula – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  23. "Aussie skiers look for redemption". Wwos.ninemsn.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  24. "Aussie eyes standing slalom medal – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  25. "Gourley wins first gold on the slopes". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  26. "Paralympics: Hall gets season underway in winning fashion". Otago Daily Times. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  27. "Podium for Kane in Spain". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  28. "Sochi 2014 Latest Results". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  29. McDonald, Margie (4 February 2014). "Paralympians put energy into alpine skiing for Sochi". The Australian. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  30. "Mitchell Gourley". International Paralympic Committee Athlete Profiles. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  31. "Big Season Ahead for Australian skiers". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  32. "Maiden world titles for skiers Bertagnolli, Gourley". International Paralympic Committee News. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  33. "Mitchell Gourley". 2018 Winter Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  34. "Australian Paralympic Winter Team for PyeongChang 2018 announced". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  35. "Alpine Worlds 2019: Double delight". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  36. "Mitchell Gourley". 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics Official Results. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  37. "Full Circle For Australia's Beijing 2022 Flagbearers". Paralympics Australia. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  38. "Cox and James crowned Australian Snowsports Athlete of the Year". Ski and Snowboard Australia. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  39. "Winners announced for Victorian Disability Sport and Recreation Awards". Disability Sport & Recreation Victoria. 18 August 2017. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  40. "Cooke earns Top Award". Victorian Institute of Sport website. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  41. "Matildas and Kerr Australia's fan favourites at AIS awards". Australian Sports Commission website. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  42. "2018 Australian Paralympic Team Co-captains announced". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
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