Riverina's Paralympic Games debutant Josh Hanlon ready to give slalom events a shake in Beijing

The Weethalle Para-alpine skier is convinced he's made marked improvement since two top 10 finishes at the World Para Snow Sports Championships earlier this year and is hopeful of mixing it with the world's best.

"I'm feeling really comfortable with how it's all going at training... I think it's really stepped up a couple of notches since we had a really good training block in Austria," Hanlon said.

"Things feel like they've clicked and I'm starting to run some really good, consistent times.

"Hopefully I'll be able to lay down a good couple of runs in both events and be up there with the best."

Hanlon is in the giant slalom sit-skiing on Thursday (first run 1pm AEDT) and the slalom on Saturday.

The 24-year-old has been working the training hills but skiers don't get a look at the course until race day.

Completing the first run without crashing is critical but Hanlon won't let caution get the better of him.

"What's been working for me is to stay tactically aggressive... As soon as I try to dial it back at all I seem to either blow out of the run or I don't go so well so I'm trying to work on being as tactical and aggressive as possible," he said.

"Trusting that the training I've done and the experience I've got will get me down there, but don't dial it back at all. Give it everything and hook in."

The thought of what's at stake - the potential to win a Paralympic Games medal - is present, but not a feature of his preparation or motivation.

"Definitely it does cross your mind but I try not to think about that because it's not really going to help putting down a good time," Hanlon said.

"As soon as you start thinking about that stuff you start to lose concentration on what your main focuses are to ski fast."

He's feeding off the buzz of being at the Games from fulfilling media commitments, to parading at the opening ceremony, and then supporting teammates in their events.

"It's definitely a good vibe around. Everything's getting very exciting and very real," he said.

The former footballer said at the top of his run on Thursday, he won't be thinking about his meteoric rise in the sport (taking into account at least two winters of preparation being wiped out due to COVID and injury).

But the road to get there, from life-threatening illness to representing his country, is always with him.

"Alone times, just chilling out, it definitely does cross my mind, how far I have come. You probably almost don't realise how much you do think back to those days," he said.

"But when you're busy and flat out, you don't think about it too much."

His philosophy since the first days of emerging from illness and operations without his lower legs and right hand has been simple.

"Keep moving forward, keep getting on with life and enjoying it," he said.

"The support has been crazy. It has been unreal. All the messages, I still can't thank everyone enough for what they've done and continue to do.

"It's so good knowing there's so many people back home watching and cheering on, for sure."

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