NZ Paralympic ski racer Corey Peters’ sporting career continues to go from strength to strength. Corey 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 and has now won the GOLD medal in Downhill at the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Winter Games. Just one day after he won gold, he claimed the silver medal in Super-G in what is Corey's most successful Paralympic Games.
Gold medal Downhill 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, Silver medal Super-G 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Bronze medal Downhill 2018 Paralympic Winter Games; 2016 World Cup Super-G Crystal Globe; Gold medal Downhill, Gold medal Super-G, Silver medal Giant Slalom 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships; Silver medal Giant Slalom 2014 Paralympic Winter Games
NZ Paralympic ski racer Corey Peters’ sporting career continues to go from strength to strength. Corey 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 claimed World Titles in Downhill and Super-G as well as a silver medal in Giant Slalom at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing World Championships in Canada in March 2015 and a World Cup Crystal Globe in Super-G in 2016.
With just under one year to go until the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games Corey claimed a silver medal in Super-G at the test event in PyeongChang, South Korea . The test event also doubled as The World Para Alpine Skiing and World Para Snowboard World Cup Finals.
At the 2019 Para Alpine Skiing World Championships Corey achieved a fourth place finish in Downhill. During the New Zealand season he achieved strong results in the World Para Alpine Southern Hemisphere Cups at Winter Games NZ. Competing in the sitting class, Corey kicked things off with a win in the Super-G at Coronet Peak, followed by second in the Giant Slalom and wrapping up with another victory in the Slalom.
Corey made a return to competition in 2022 at the Para Snow Sports World Championships, where he finished in fourth place in the Giant Slalom race. Corey achieved his dream of winning a Paralympic Gold medal at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games when he won the men's sitting Downhill race. He backed that up the following day, claiming silver in the Super-G.
Corey was named Snow Sports NZ Overall Athlete of the Year in 2014 and Adaptive Snow Sports Athlete of the Year in 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 .
Corey’s results are made all the more impressive given the fact that he only took up sit-skiing in 2011. The former Taranaki age group and development squad rugby representative’s life was turned upside down in September 2009 when he sustained a crushed spinal cord at a motocross event, leaving him paralysed. Corey spent four months in the Spinal Unit learning the basics of how to live life in a wheelchair. Adjusting to a new way of life was tough but Corey remained determined to continue to live a fulfilled life.
In 2011, two years after the accident, he was introduced to the sport of sit skiing. He took to the sport immediately and the same year won gold in the men’s adaptive sit-ski event at the Para-Snowboard Winter Games at Cardrona Alpine Resort in NZ. From there he set himself the ultimate goal of representing NZ at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.
Corey not only achieved his goal but won a silver medal in the Giant Slalom (GS) at the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games in 2014. He placed fourth in the Super-Combined and sixth in Super-G.
Corey now spends his Northern Hemisphere seasons training in Winter Park in the USA and travelling throughout Europe and North America to compete. Back in New Zealand he splits his time between his home base in New Plymouth and training at Cardrona Alpine Resort and at the High Performance Sport New Zealand/Snow Sports NZ Training Centre in Wanaka.
Check out more of Corey's results here, or follow him on social media.
