Para Alpine Skiing Guide | Australian Para Alpine Team | Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games Hopeful
From a promising junior racing career to guiding at the highest level, Ethan Jackson’s sporting journey has taken an unexpected turn. It’s a path shaped by resilience, adaptability and a deep understanding of what it takes to perform on the slopes.
Now, as one half of one of the nation’s most exciting Parasport pairings, he plays a critical role as a guide to Georgia Gunew on the world stage. As a Team Partner proudly supporting the next generation of Winter Para athletes, Harvey Norman is backing Ethan Jackson as he continues his path towards the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
At-a-Glance
Sport: Para alpine skiing (Guide)
Disciplines:
- Super-G Guide
- Giant Slalom Guide
- Slalom Guide
Paralympic Games:
- Milano Cortina 2026 hopeful
Career Highlights and Achievements:
- National-level alpine skier – Slalom and Giant Slalom (2016-2017)
- Placed eighth in FIS competition – Mount Buller (2017)
- Australian Para Alpine Team guide debut (2022)
- Guided Georgia Gunew to three World Cup bronze medals and top 10 overall World Cup rankings – Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super-G (2023-25 seasons)
A racer’s foundation
Ethan’s connection to the snow began early. Training from the age of 10, he progressed through Australia’s junior racing pathways. By his mid-teens, he was competing at a national level in slalom and giant slalom during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Years of sacrifice and commitment on the slopes culminated in a best placing of eighth at a FIS competition in Mount Buller – a glimpse of what could have been a long racing career.
But repeated injuries started to get in the way. Despite his determination to continue skiing, Ethan was forced to step away from competition sooner than expected, bringing the first chapter of his sporting life to a close.
A different way to compete
Stepping away from racing didn’t mean stepping away from the sport entirely. Still drawn to the mountains, Ethan transitioned into coaching, determined to remain involved in high-level skiing in whatever form that might take.
It was during this period that a new opportunity emerged. After learning that Paralympic skier Patrick Jensen was seeking a new guide following the Beijing Winter Games, Ethan stepped into the role for the 2022-23 World Cup season. It marked his debut as a Paraalpine guide – and a return to competition in a very different capacity.
Guiding demanded a different kind of precision. Just metres ahead, Ethan sets the line and calls the course, reading terrain, snow and pace in real time so his partner can ski with confidence.
Building a partnership
In 2023, Ethan began guiding Georgia Gunew. Their partnership took shape through trust and shared experience, forged by the demands of racing at speeds approaching 100 kilometres per hour, where every run relies on timing, communication and absolute belief in the person ahead.
For Georgia, that belief is everything.
“I’m flying down a mountain at 100k’s,” she said. “I think the trust we need to have is there”.
Source: Georgia Gunew, Paralympics Australia Profile
The results soon followed. By the following year, Georgia claimed her first World Cup podium at Veysonnaz, Switzerland. Further podium finishes followed the next season, alongside consistent top 10 results across multiple disciplines – placing the pair among Australia’s leading Para alpine athletes.
Trust, rhythm and refinement
For Ethan, success as a guide isn’t defined by a single result. It’s measured across a season, in clean runs, clear calls and the small improvements that add up over time.
Competing on home territory at the 2025 FIS ParaAlpine National Championships in Perisher offered another opportunity for Ethan and Georgia to strengthen their connection. Across multiple runs on a fast, flowing giant slalom course, the focus was on execution and applying lessons learned on the World Cup circuit.
Reflecting on their approach, Ethan pointed to trust as the foundation of everything they do. “We can’t do what we do without complete trust in one another. That takes time,” he said.
Source: Blue Sky Racing Provides Perfect Setting For Milano Cortina Hopefuls, Paralympics Australia, 2025
Perspective beyond the slopes
Away from competition, Ethan balances elite sport with studying law and economics at university – a contrast that offers him a unique perspective during long seasons spent travelling between hemispheres.
While guiding was not the path he once imagined, it has a given him a renewed sense of purpose:
“I get to compete in my sport at such a high level in a wonderfully different capacity,” he said. “I’m truly grateful for the opportunity and for the honour to strive for greatness with Georgia”.
Source: Ethan Jackson, Athlete Profile, Paralympics Australia
Looking ahead
Still early in his guiding career, Ethan has already become a steady presence within Australia’s Paraalpine program. Shaped by his racing background and calm under pressure, he and Georgia continue to strengthen their partnership, one run at a time.
From his early years as a junior racer to leading the way on the World Cup circuit as sighted guide for Georgia Gunew, Ethan embodies what it means to find adapt and find a new path forward. As he works towards selection for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Harvey Norman is proud to support him, celebrating the next generation of Winter Para athletes who continue to push what’s possible.