Ben Tudhope out to honour his late mentors at Beijing 2022

When Ben Tudhope chases Winter Paralympic glory in Zhangjiakou, he’ll have two medals in his sights, two names in his heart and a message in his jacket reminding him why he’s doing it.

There, embroidered in the lining, is a simple phrase: ‘I ride for Matty’.

The stitching, which features in every Australian athlete’s uniform, refers to Matthew Robinson, Tudhope’s former para snowboarding teammate who died in February 2014, aged just 28.

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Just weeks before the Sochi Winter Paralympics, where Tudhope made his Games debut, Robinson suffered serious injuries in a crash in La Molina, Spain.

After spinal and neck surgeries in Barcelona, Robinson was taken home via air ambulance but during a refuelling stop in Kuwait, he suffered a cardiac arrest and could not be revived.

“It’s absolutely an honour to have the Matty stitching on a piece of our uniform,” Tudhope told AAP.

“Paralympics Australia actually surprised us this time around and four years ago in Korea too.

“He was my teammate going into Sochi and it’s just incredible to be able to honour his legacy and know that he’s still with us, he’s still with me, with the team and his legacy will live on in Paralympics Australia history and in our sport as well, not just in Australia but in the debut of our sport.

“He was actually the first guy to win an IPC World Cup for Australia so he paved the way for everyone here. So it’s great that we can honour him here and know that he’s here with us every step of the way.”

Tudhope had a particularly special connection with Robinson, who helped the youngster deal with the prospect of spending months away from home in camps in Europe.

“He was truly