Paralympics: Two-time gold medallist leads Winter Paralympics team

Adam Hall. Photosport

Two-time Paralympic gold medallist Adam Hall leads a New Zealand team of three athletes named for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics.

Hall and fellow alpine skiers Corey Peters and Aaron Ewen will compete at the event next March.

Today's selection announcement is particularly moving for Ewen after being forced to withdraw from the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games team following a fractured hip while training in the lead up to the Paralympics.

He made a successful comeback during the 2019 NZ winter and achieved podium finishes in the Southern Hemisphere Cups. Ewen competes with a sit-ski in the classification LW11.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time," said Ewen. "I can't wait to get to Beijing and know I've finally made it to the Winter Paralympics."

Hall competes across a number of standing Para alpine ski events, in the classification LW1. Beijing 2022 will be his fifth consecutive Paralympic Winter Games. He has previously won gold at Vancouver in 2010 and at the last Games in PyeongChang where he also claimed a bronze.

"New Zealand always punches above its weight for a small country. Let's prove we can do that again," Hall said.

"There's been a lot of talk about the course in Beijing. The course will really challenge athletes and their abilities. That's to my advantage – I love to pit myself against difficult tracks; it's more fun than a plain sailing track that everyone is equally capable of completing."

Peters claimed a silver medal in Giant Slalom at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games and added a bronze medal in downhill at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. He competes across a number of events with a sit-ski, which he learnt to use following a spinal cord injury (classification LW12-1).

The New Zealand Paralympic Team will depart New Zealand later this month for the northern hemisphere competitions in Canada and Europe.