Mark Soyer (born 24 April 1978) is an Australian para-alpine

LW11 LW11 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic sit skiing ''sport class'', a classification defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC for people with paralysis in the lower extremities and people with cerebral palsy that affects the lower ha ...

classified skier. He dealt with leukaemia twice as a child. At the age of 26, he severed his spinal cord during an accident while riding his motorbike on his parents' farm, and subsequently tried several different sports. Working as a manufacturing

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

and

gemologist Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a specific interdisciplinary branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, he has also been involved with para-skiing as a volunteer, and serving in administrative roles for various organisations. In 2007, he was a finalist for the Pride of Australia awards for courage. Soyer took up skiing following his accident after attending a camp in Australia. He then travelled to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

to attend another camp, before coming back to Australia to attend another camp. In 2007, he was ranked as Australia's second best sit-skier, and was in the top 50 skiers in the world. He attempted to make the

2010 Winter Paralympics The 2010 Winter Paralympics (), or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing ...

. He earned bronze medals at skiing events in New Zealand in 2011. In 2012, he was a member of the Australian Paralympic skiing team, based out of the

Australian Institute of Sports The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the A ...

, and was trying to secure a spot for the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Par ...

Sochi, Russia Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Southern Russia, with a population ...

. He represented Australia at the

2018 Winter Paralympics The 2018 Winter Paralympics (), the 12th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the Internation ...

Personal

As a three-year-old, Soyer was diagnosed with

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

, and doctors were pessimistic about his chances for survival. Despite being declared cancer free by the age of six, the cancer came back when he was eight years old. As a child, he played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

and was a member of Little Athletics. He attended

Benalla College Benalla P–12 College is a state college located in the regional town of Benalla which is located on the Hume Highway in central Victoria, Australia, on the Melbourne to Sydney Highway, 180 km north-north-east of Melbourne. It was one of t ...

. In November 2004, at the age of 26, Soyer severed his spinal cord during an accident while riding his motorbike on his parents' farm. He was keen to exercise as soon as he could during his rehabilitation. He tried several sports, including

wheelchair tennis Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis Adaptive sport, adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designe ...

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for Disabled sport, athletes with a disability. It is practiced in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic spor ...

and

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

, following his accident in an attempt to find one that made him feel able-bodied. He drove dune buggies and tried kayaking, and in 2007 was learning how to para-glide. In 2007 and 2008, Soyer worked as a manufacturing

and

. He volunteers for

Disabled Winter Sport Australia Disabled Wintersport Australia (DWA) was established in 1978 as the Australian Disabled Skiers Federation. Its current mission is "to promote and foster the advancement of participation by people with a disability in wintersport both in Australia ...

as a ski guide. From 2005 to 2008, he raised more than AUD$7,500 to assist other Australian para-skiers afford equipment to compete. At the same time, he also gave skiing lessons. He is also on the board of Able Management Group, an organisation assisting people with disabilities to get into

para-alpine skiing Para-alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War. The sport is governed by the International ...

, where he serves on the Fundraising Committee. He was involved in the founding of the AMG Free Ride Team. He is also part of the

Australian Paralympic Committee Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian tea ...

's WorkCoverSA Paralympian Speakers Program. In 2007, he helped conduct three adaptive skiing camps in Victoria, and was a finalist for the Pride of Australia awards for courage.

Skiing

Soyer is an

classified skier, who skied before his accident. He took up sit-skiing while rehabilitating from his injuries, and was able to adapt to a mono-ski within the first day of trying it at a Disability Wintersport Australia camp at Falls Creek. Before the year was out following that camp, he went to

and participated in a skiing camp specifically for people who use monoskis. During the following Australian ski season, he participated in a learn to ski race camp at

Thredbo Thredbo is a village and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately south of Sydney, accessible by the Alpine Way via Cooma, Berridale and Jindabyne. The village is built in the valley of the Th ...

. Soyer trains at

Mount Hotham Mount Hotham is a mountain located in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, in the Australian state of Victoria. The mountain is located approximately north east of Melbourne, from Sydney, and from Adelaide by road. The nearest ...

and Falls Creek in Australia, and in Colorado in the United States. In 2007, he was ranked as Australia's second best sit-skier and was in the top 50 skiers in the world. In December of that year, he competed at the Hartford Ski Spectacular at the Beaver Run Resort in

Breckenridge, Colorado Breckenridge is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule town that is the county seat and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Summit County, Colorado, Summit County, Colorado, United ...

where he finished thirteenth in the giant slalom, with a time of 1:09.12 in his first run, and 1:08.67 in his second run for a combined run time of 2:17.79. In 2008, Soyer was trying to qualify for the

. At that time, he was the second ranked skier in his class in Australia, and ranked in the top 60 in the world. Going into the 2008/2009 ski season, he needed to raise AUD$20,000 to allow him to compete internationally to qualify for the Games. In August 2009, he competed in the Winter Games NZ at Coronet Peak in the men's sitting LW11 slalom event. At the 2011 New Zealand Winter Games, he finished third in the men's sitting giant slalom event with a time of 1:46.08. Arriving late to the event, he did not have much training time to learn the course. At another skiing event in 2011 in Mt Hutt, New Zealand, he finished third in the Super G. He competed at the 2011 IPC Alpine Skiing Noram Cup at Copper Mountain, Colorado, where he earned three fourth-place finishes and one seventh-place finish. Early in his trip, prior to competing, he broke his race ski and had equipment difficulties at the Noram Cup as a result. He had a time of 2:00.69 in the giant slalom race. In 2012, he was a member of the Australian Paralympic skiing team, based out of the

, and was trying to secure a spot for the

. In January 2012, he was in Austria to compete at the Abtenau IPCAS. That year,

Liberty Skis Liberty Skis Corporation is one of the ski industry's largest independent ski manufacturers, and a leader in the manufacture of carving, touring, powder, and twin-tip skis, used primarily for a style of skiing known alternately as newschool skii ...

Corporation signed him to its professional team. His results at the 2017 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy were 13th in the Giant Slalom Sitting and Slalom Sitting, 17th in the Super G Sitting and did not finish in the Super Combined Sitting. At the

, he competed in five events. He did not finish in three events and was 16th in the Men's Super-G Sitting and 18th in the Men's Giant Slalom, Sitting.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soyer, Mark 1978 births Living people Paralympic alpine skiers for Australia Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Australian jewellers Australian male alpine skiers People from Benalla Sportsmen from Victoria (state)