Paralympian #188 Corey Peters MNZM will be hoping to mount a successful defence of his Men’s Downhill sitting, at his fourth Paralympic Winter Games at Milano Cortina 2026 next month. In this extensive interview, Corey talks about his Para alpine skiing journey, how technology and innovation have played a critical role in his progress, and how he balances his career ambitions with family life.
One of the most iconic moments in the recent history of the NZ Paralympic Team came at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. There on the slopes of Yanqing, Paralympian #188 Corey Peters MNZM executed a close to perfect run to strike gold in the Men’s Downhill Sitting with an electrifying performance.
Slow-mo TV images of the New Plymouth-raised sit skier bouncing off the snow almost parallel to the ground were simply breathtaking and demonstrated the sheer brilliance of the run which elevated Corey to the top of the podium.
Powering down a mountain at exhilarating speeds of up to 115km/h on a sit ski is an experience very few of us will ever embrace – so how does Corey describe the feeling?
“It’s an amazing adrenaline rush,” Corey explains. “The sit ski flexes through the turn, and it feels like you are accelerating as the G-forces act on your body. You are fighting to stay balanced, and it’s an incredible sensation. With the speeds we reach, there is more risk, but that adrenaline rush is something I’ve craved throughout my career.”
Yet perhaps more than Corey being attracted to the adrenaline rush it offers the four-time Paralympic medallist a profound sense of freedom, rendering his disability irrelevant during his time on the snow.
“When I’m on the mountain in a sit ski it is almost like you don’t have a disability,” he explains. “It is like your disability dissolves and disappears.”
In the aftermath of acquiring a spinal cord injury, following a motocross accident in Tāupo in 2009, proved a hugely challenging time for Corey.
Having lived a sporty and active life up to that point for the former Taranaki Rep rugby player, passionate surfer and motorcross rider, to be told he would no longer be able to walk was a huge blow.
“All my life I’d been very active, so to suddenly be in hospital bed recovering was tough”, he says. “Over that first year or two following the accident there were definitely some dark moments and down times.”
After four months rehabilitating at Burwood Spinal Unit, he then returned home to a new life as a wheelchair user. Corey describes this period of adjusting to life in a wheelchair as the “lowest point” adding, “When I was discharged and went home, I realised that society was not designed for wheelchair users in terms of accessibility. On top of that all your friends and family are at work from nine to five and this just gives you too much time to think and compare your life with how you used to live.”
Yet hope came in the form of meeting other wheelchair users. Chatting to them, Corey found that post-accident people were contributing positively to society in a variety of ways and it brought about a change in mindset.
It was then Corey’s good fortune he met Ian Rowe, a disabled skier, at a Sports Expo in New Plymouth.
“I was coming to terms with my new life and meeting Ian was life-changing for me,” said Corey. “Ian was fearless competing in extreme sports as a disabled person. If I had not gone to the Expo, I would never know that skiing was possible.”
Able to transfer many of his skills of balance and co-ordination learned as a surfer and motocross rider, Corey proved perfectly suited to life as a Para alpine skier. By 2012 he could ski independently down a mountain, the following year he competed at his first Para Alpine Skiing World Championships, and in Sochi 2014 – on his Paralympic Winter Games debut – he claimed a stunning silver medal in the Men’s Giant Slalom Sitting. His rise was meteoric, which exemplified his tenacious drive and competitive spirit.
“Whether it was as a rugby player, surfing, a motocross rider or even in my job as a marine cabinet maker, I always had a desire to give of my best,” he explains. “Those life skills I learned pre-injury, that attention to detail, translated to my Para alpine skiing. I also like to work on my technique, to be the prettiest skier in terms of balance and technique. This has paid off and made me one of the best in the world.”
That diligent no stone unturned approach to excellence has also manifested itself in the technology and innovation space. As both a wheelchair user and sit skier, Corey fully understands the key role technology and innovation has played in both his daily life and in his 13-year career among the global elite in Para alpine skiing.
With input from High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) and the University of Canterbury in the countdown to Beijing 2022, innovative aerodynamic alterations were made on his sit ski to include a leg cover on the front and a modified cam tail to reduce drag and improve performance on the mountain.
“Technology has advanced quite a bit in the time I’ve being involved in the Para sport,” he explains. “The main changes have been around aerodynamics and the suspension. Everyone is looking for those small margins and one percent gains which make the difference in a Para sport that is separated by fractions of a second.”
Further innovation has continued apace leading into Milano Cortina 2026. Corey has offered input to the team at the University of Canterbury. Absorbing the advice, scientists and designers have further tweaked the aerodynamics of the sit ski which it is hoped will help propel Corey to back-to-back Paralympic Men’s Downhill Sitting gold medals at Milano Cortina 2026.
“If you look at the air flow behind me there is a lot of turbulence behind my back which acts almost like a suction,” he explains. “That is why we have altered the back of the seat.
“We have also modified the tail to further reduce drag and boost speed.”
Such has been the innovative design work which has gone into Corey’s sit ski, other nations have attempted to copy elements of the design.
Yet Corey is also keen to stress how technology plays a vital role in his day-to-day life.
His regular wheelchair, plus crutches, and ankle orthotics all play “a massive role” in allowing him to successfully participate in society.
On the slopes, Corey has carved out an outstanding career. At the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, he claimed a bronze medal in the Men’s Downhill Sitting before storming to that aforementioned gold in the same discipline at Beijing 2022, along with silver in the Men’s Super-G Sitting.
Later that year, following the birth of his first child, daughter Valentina, he made the deliberate decision to take a year off Para alpine skiing to focus on family life – a choice he does not regret. Shortly after returned to training in mid-2023, a dislocated shoulder sidelined him for another 12 months. While a setback for his sporting career, it gave him an additional year to be close to his partner, Karin, and daughter Valentina, turning a professional blow into a personal gift.
During the 2025-26 campaign he has found training and competing for sustained periods of time away from the family challenging and while there is extra motivation to perform well for the family, being a father and a Para alpine skier has brought extra complexity.
“There are great risks in our Para sport and having had shoulder injuries you do start to question how much you want to push the limits of going down a mountain, especially now I have a family,” he explains. “You do not want to be laid up in a hospital bed, but I’ve worked with a sports psychologist over the past 12 months which has helped prepare me for this season.”
After claiming several World Cup medals this season, Corey is tracking well for another memorable Paralympic Winter Games next month.
Yet whatever happens on the slopes of Olimpia delle Tofane in Cortina he acknowledges that post-accident, his life has been significantly enhanced.
“If the accident had not happened, I’d be still building houses or cabinet making and I would never have got to travel the world as a professional skier,” he says. “Yes, there are day-to-day challenges as a person in terms of accessibility, but you work around that. My life has been enriched through Para alpine skiing. It has opened so many doors and not many people get to say they are a professional sportsman. I could have chosen to sit on the couch and feel sorry for myself or instead take the route I did; grab the bull by the horns and get on with life.”
