The Albany Gazette - Parker shows 'anything is possible' with Winter Paralympic journey

The gold medallist in triathlon and cycling at the 2024 Paris Paralympics spoke to AFP from Val di Fiemme in the Italian Alps, where the 37-year-old is making her Winter Paralympics debut in biathlon and cross-country skiing.

Parker, a paraplegic who only boasts "11 weeks (experience) on snow in total", said she was on a "journey of discovery".

"I've never competed in half of these events before," she revealed of the six events she has on her schedule across the two disciplines.

"I am hard on myself sometimes, but I've got to think that I am very new, but I'm learning heaps, and I put in an awesome performance here in the (cross-country) 10 kilometre with a top-eight finish," she said.

Following Friday's biathlon sprint pursuit, Parker said: "Biathlon is my favourite... I was stoked to make the final in today's race."

By Parker's own admission, however, endurance is her strong suit rather than speed, and she was "really looking forward to" her final event of the Games -- the 20 kilometre cross-country interval start on Sunday.

Parker hopes her journey will inspire more people to try out winter sports, and para sports more generally.

"I hope that I bring awareness, I guess, having that reputation in Australia with my summer sports," she said.

"I just want to bring awareness to everybody out there or kids out there that anything is possible if you chase a dream and dream big and set goals and work hard.

"I just want to create awareness for para sports in general."

- Never shot a gun -

Parker revealed her route to Milan-Cortina only began in June last year.

"A friend of mine who worked for Snow Australia reached out to me and said I could have potential in the sport if I wanted to give it a go," she said.

"And it wasn't too late to try and qualify for the Winter Paralympics. So when someone dangles that in my face, I'm like, I'm up for it. I'm up for the challenge."

Since becoming wheelchair-bound following a training accident ahead of a 2017 Ironman event in Australia, Parker threw herself into this latest para challenge with her typical wholeheartedness.

"I jumped straight into it," she said. "I spent my first week on snow in June in Australia. And then my second week on snow was in September. And then I was thrown into a World Cup in Canada in December.

"Fitness carries through all sports, I believe. A lot of my fitness on snow is from my triathlon and cycling training."

Using only her arms, Parker must propel herself through the snow over distances between one and 20 kilometres (0.6-12.4 miles), depending on the event.

"I qualified for both biathlon and cross-country, and six events were there for me to compete in, and I know I can back up after events, like what I did in Paris (2024)," she said of her jam-packed schedule.

"I've also competed in Ironman, I train for that. I train so hard day in, day out."

But cardio and arm strength alone are not enough to be an elite Nordic ski athlete.

The New South Wales native had to learn not just how to ski and navigate different snowy conditions but also to shoot a gun, for the biathlon.

"I shot a rifle for the first time two days before competition in Canada in December," Parker said.

"So I've had absolutely no experience whatsoever, but I'm really enjoying it. It's quite exciting and I feel like I've got a good eye."

Never one to rest on her laurels, Parker will only have a few days' rest after Milan-Cortina before getting straight back into Summer Games mode.

"All the focus then will be towards Los Angeles 2028," she said.

(M.Scott--TAG)