Peter Williams (alpine skier)

Williams has spina bifida,[2] and, at birth, doctors predicted a short life expectancy of only three weeks for him. They told his mother not to bother to feed him,[3] Williams remarked in a TVNZ interview.[4] He has had over forty surgeries related to his spina bifida.[5] Originally from the Auckland area,[6][7] during the southern winter he lived in the ski resort town of Wānaka and in the northern ski season was based in Winter Park.[8]

In 1992, he competed in the Kiwi Kids Triathlon, and was the first child with a disability to do so.[5] He attended Auckland University of Technology where he earned a bachelor of communications in 2005 after majoring in television production.[5] In 2010, he was a finalist for New Zealand snowsport emerging talent of the year.[9]

Williams learned to ski as a standing skier,[2] but changed to a sit-ski in 1996.[2] He is a LW11-classified skier.[10] He decided to forego competing in the 2002 Winter Paralympics in order to finish high school.[5] At the 2008 Huntsman Cup, he finished second in the slalom event.[11] He took up skiing again in order to prove to potential employers that his wheelchair was not an impediment for him to work at a high level.[3] At the 2009 Cardrona Disabled National Championships, he finished second in the Super G with a time of 52.81 seconds, second in the giant slalom with a time of 48.45 seconds, and second in the slalom with a time of 54.28 seconds. He was beaten in every event by teammate Adam Hall.[7]

At the 2009 NZ Winter Games Adaptive Giant slalom competition, competing in the giant slalom men's sitting event, he finished sixth.[8][12] He finished fourth in the slalom.[12] He was one of two New Zealanders to compete at the 2010 Winter Paralympics.[13] The 2010 Paralympics were his first attendance.[14]

Competing at the 2010 Winter Paralympics, he participated in two events: the slalom and the giant slalom.[15] He finished twentieth in the men's sitting giant slalom. He completed his first run with a time of 1:34.16, leaving him in twenty-seventh place. Following a weather-delayed second run, he had a combined time of 3:11.86 for both runs.[6][16][17] On the day of the giant slalom, he was on the hill for the competition by 6:30am and off the mountain at 5:00pm.[16] He finished twenty-second in the slalom, with a combined run time of 2:05.55.[2]

Post the Paralympic Games, Williams' career has revolves around marketing and operations for a wide variety of mobility equipment companies. Williams serves on a number of boards.[18]

• Peter Williams at Paralympics New Zealand
• Peter Williams at the International Paralympic Committee