Blind Paralympic Skier Chasing Gold
Donation protected
My name is Patrick Dalby Jensen, and this is my story!
I am a 22 year old Visually Impaired Alpine Ski racer from Newcastle NSW Australia. I represented Australia in the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeong Chang, South Korea.
I am currently world ranked 10th in Downhill, 16th in Giant Slalom and 14th in Slalom out of 32 Visually Impaired competitors!
with only 4 years of skiing under my belt i strongly believe i will continue to push my way to the top.
Now let me tell you all how it all started.
As a child i was always involving myself in anything that i could, weather that be Athletics, Football, Swimming, Soccer, Skateboarding, Surfing and Running around wanting even more.
At the age of 7 i was Diagnosed with a Vision impairment.Doctors handed me glasses and away i went, it took a few months for my school teachers to realise i was still unable to see any class work and it came apparent the Glasses provided didnt actually help me in any way.
As i got older i was constantly going from Specialist to Doctors to try and find out what i had, nne of them had any answers. after 2 years of tests and operations they came to the conclusion i had a rare disease called Cone-Rod Dystrophy (CRD) a Genetic Degenerative Eye Condition. From the age of 8-22, i have lost 75% Vision, leaving me with 5% vision today.
When i was 18 I was in my last year of school, I was chasing the life of a Musician at this point, a Paid drummer was my dream. But Mid year, a Change of Plans became available. I attended a Disabled Winter Sports Australia (DWA) Ski camp to give me the chance to ski! I had no idea at this point what opportunities may be available in this sport but i was definitely more than interested! 1 camp led to another and only months later i was flying to Austria to compete with the Australian Paralympic team! you could say i'm a fast learner.
Race after race i was getting faster and faster, ups and downs, at times i was ready to give up, but that just isn't in my nature. I stuck to my guns and kept pushing!
My Coaches actually had no intentions of sending me to the 2018 Paralympics, i was intended to make my Debut in 2022 in China! but the hard training got me qualified to race at the Paralympics 4 years earlier!
Now that i have done that, i have made it my goal to get even closer to the top. World Championships in January 2019 in Italy/Slovenia are my next big races. The only issue is Funding. In order to race World Champs, i need the right equipment, race opportunities, training and Accommodation. The Invoice i have received for this season is $15000. that is excluding the new skis i have already had to Purchase ($3000).
If you, Your family, friends or any person or people you know are able to donate anything, weather its $5 or $500, any amount of money makes the biggest difference for me!
If you could Share this Page to any Forum possible it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you all for taking time to learn my story.
I am a 22 year old Visually Impaired Alpine Ski racer from Newcastle NSW Australia. I represented Australia in the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeong Chang, South Korea.
I am currently world ranked 10th in Downhill, 16th in Giant Slalom and 14th in Slalom out of 32 Visually Impaired competitors!
with only 4 years of skiing under my belt i strongly believe i will continue to push my way to the top.
Now let me tell you all how it all started.
As a child i was always involving myself in anything that i could, weather that be Athletics, Football, Swimming, Soccer, Skateboarding, Surfing and Running around wanting even more.
At the age of 7 i was Diagnosed with a Vision impairment.Doctors handed me glasses and away i went, it took a few months for my school teachers to realise i was still unable to see any class work and it came apparent the Glasses provided didnt actually help me in any way.
As i got older i was constantly going from Specialist to Doctors to try and find out what i had, nne of them had any answers. after 2 years of tests and operations they came to the conclusion i had a rare disease called Cone-Rod Dystrophy (CRD) a Genetic Degenerative Eye Condition. From the age of 8-22, i have lost 75% Vision, leaving me with 5% vision today.
When i was 18 I was in my last year of school, I was chasing the life of a Musician at this point, a Paid drummer was my dream. But Mid year, a Change of Plans became available. I attended a Disabled Winter Sports Australia (DWA) Ski camp to give me the chance to ski! I had no idea at this point what opportunities may be available in this sport but i was definitely more than interested! 1 camp led to another and only months later i was flying to Austria to compete with the Australian Paralympic team! you could say i'm a fast learner.
Race after race i was getting faster and faster, ups and downs, at times i was ready to give up, but that just isn't in my nature. I stuck to my guns and kept pushing!
My Coaches actually had no intentions of sending me to the 2018 Paralympics, i was intended to make my Debut in 2022 in China! but the hard training got me qualified to race at the Paralympics 4 years earlier!
Now that i have done that, i have made it my goal to get even closer to the top. World Championships in January 2019 in Italy/Slovenia are my next big races. The only issue is Funding. In order to race World Champs, i need the right equipment, race opportunities, training and Accommodation. The Invoice i have received for this season is $15000. that is excluding the new skis i have already had to Purchase ($3000).
If you, Your family, friends or any person or people you know are able to donate anything, weather its $5 or $500, any amount of money makes the biggest difference for me!
If you could Share this Page to any Forum possible it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you all for taking time to learn my story.
Organizer
Patrick Blinky Jensen
Organizer
Wallsend NSW
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