Jonty O’Callaghan

Para-alpine skier Jonty ‘Jontos’ O’Callaghan, who was born with cerebral palsy affecting his right side, first set his sights on competing at the Paralympic Games after relocating to Switzerland in primary school, where his parents enrolled him in snow sports.

At the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics, he competed in five events and his best results were 22nd in the Men’s Downhill Standing and 23rd in the Men’s Giant Slalom Standing.

In the lead up to the 2018 Games, under the guidance of coach Chris McKnight, O’Callaghan represented Australia at the 2017 IPC Alpine Skiing Europa Cup in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, where he won bronze in the Men’s Giant Slalom behind Finland’s Santeri Kiiveri and France’s Jordan Broisin and placed fifth in the Super-G, just four seconds behind race leader and local favourite Robin Cuche.

Off the back of these results, he performed strongly at the 2017 World Para-alpine Skiing Championships in Tarvisio, Italy, clocking a time of 2:31.04 to finish 18th in a field of 30 in the Giant Slalom.

When he’s not chasing snow, O’Callaghan, who is now coached by Christian Geiger, enjoys learning about World Wars I and II, travelling and is a diehard Geelong Cats fan. He is also a descendent of Robert Hoddle, the surveyor who devised Melbourne’s famed inner-city grid system.