First Day of Downhill Races in Aspen
The first day of the Downhill competition at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals finished yesterday in Aspen, USA, with many different countries taking the top positions.
In the Men’s Visually Impaired category, Spain’s Jon Santacana (B2) took first with his guide Miguel Galindo at a 1:12.10 result. Coming in second and third were USA’s Mark Bathum (B3) with guide Slater Storey and Slovakia’s Jakub Krako (B2) with guide Juraj Medera.
For the Men’s Standing category, Germany’s Gerd Schoenfelder (LW5/7-2) took first place with his result of 1:16.68. Schoenfelder was followed by Australia’s pair Marty Mayberry (LW3-1) and Toby Kane (LW2) respectively. In the Men’s Sitting category, USA’s Joe Tompkins (LW11) took first with his result of 1:13.16. Tompkins was followed by Germany’s Thomas Nolte (LW11) and France’s Yohann Taberlet (LW12-1).
In the Women’s Standing category, France topped the competition with athlete Solene Jambaque (LW9-2), followed by Allison Jones (USA, LW2) and Andrea Rothfuss (GER, LW6/8-2). In the Sitting category, USA pair Alana Nichols (LW11) and Laurie Stephens (LW12-1) took first and second place respectively. Coming in third place was Austria’s Claudia Loesch (LW11).
A total of 105 athletes from 17 different countries are competing in Aspen, USA. The finals are taking place through 5 March, and are the final competition of the 2009/2010 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup season.
Presented by US Paralympics, athletes in Aspen are on the slopes of Buttermilk Mountain aiming for success in their respective events and testing their fitness and skills one last time before the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. The programme includes competitions in Downhill, Super G and Super Combined, with daily award ceremonies taking place after each day’s competition for the top three athletes in each category.
For more information about the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals, please visit www.challengeaspen.org. For more information about Alpine Skiing, please visit www.ipc-alpineskiing.org.
