Paralympics 2022: Australian skier Josh Hanlon opens up on life-changing diagnosis

This time four years ago, Josh Hanlon could never have envisioned a time when he would make his Winter Paralympics debut — why would he? While Mel Perrine and Simon Patmore were winning medals for Australia in PyeongChang, the Weethalle, NSW local was carving out a life as one of the Riverina Football League’s top talents. A GWS Giants Academy member throughout his junior years, the 198cm ruck-forward grew up playing alongside the likes of Jacob Hopper, Harry Himmelberg and Harry Perryman. “As I kid I played Aussie rules all my life … GWS took over most of NSW and I got a shot at being in the Academy at 15-19 (years of age),” Hanlon, 24, said. “I had a good crack in their program, going to some pre-season camps and playing a couple of games against the (Sydney) Swans. Then I got an apprenticeship in Wagga and that went along with playing some footy at Wagga, in the Riverina League. “I started to play some good footy there, I think I was second in the league (goalkicking) at the time when I got sick halfway through the season.” July 11, 2018. Less than four months after the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang had ended, Hanlon, then 20, found himself in hospital. What started as a Streptococcus Group A bacterial infection led to toxic shock, sepsis and necrotizing pneumonia. A three-month stay in hospital resulted in both of Hanlon’s legs and his right hand being amputated, and 10cm of his small intestine removed. Weeks of rehab and learning to walk on his prosthetics followed, until Hanlon was finally able to walk out of hospital and resume his life, albeit much differently. “I got out in November (2018) and by Christmas I felt back to normal,” he said. “It was hard to know that you weren’t ever going to play (Aussie rules) again, or to the potential that I had, but it was just about moving on and finding a new sport that I could be at the top of. “I had skied three times as a kid. The last time was the week I left school, at the end of 2015, when we caught the last couple of weeks of the season up at Perisher. And then that was it – 2019 I tried skiing again on the sit-ski. “The first time I tried it I fell in love with it straight away. I didn’t think it would be this quick. It’s been a lot of gym work, as much skiing as possible and here we are (at the Winter Paralympics). It’s kind of crazy.” Hanlon’s rise from sit-skiing novice to Paralympian inside three years has been nothing short of remarkable. He arrives in Beijing in the form of his life, following two top-10 finishes in the Slalom and Giant Slalom at the World Cup Series in Sweden in mid-January. “This being my first international season with the team has been a huge learning curve for me, I’m asking questions every day,” Hanlon said. “Mitch (Gourley) and Mel have been to four cycles now so they’re always good to ask questions. Sam (Tait) and Pat (Jensen) I’m really close with and I’m forever asking them questions. I’m feeling very comfortable with it all now. “It was pretty crazy starting the season learning what it was like to be part of an international team, but being a small team (of nine) it works pretty well.” Hanlon has had to bide his time while Gourley, Jensen and Tait attacked the speed events earlier this week but he now gets to join them on the slopes at Yanqing for the Giant Slalom, which begins on Thursday.

Paralympics 2022: Australian skier Josh Hanlon opens up on life-changing diagnosis

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