Skiers hunt for third world titles in super-combined

Corey Peters’ intense training schedule, travelling between hemispheres to find snow, has been paying off in the men’s sitting, with the New Zealander now a double world champion in downhill and super-G.

Racing at the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Panorama, Canada, is set to resume on Saturday (7 March) with super-combined, with a number of skiers going for their third gold medals.

Corey Peters’ intense training schedule, travelling between hemispheres to find snow, has been paying off in the men’s sitting, with the New Zealander now a double world champion in downhill and super-G.

With Canada’s super-combined Paralympic champion Josh Dueck now retired from ski-racing, the field that Peters will be left to face includes Japan’s reigning world champion Taiki Morii and 2013 silver medallist Takeshi Suzuki. Austria’s Roman Rabl, a Sochi 2014 bronze medallist in super-combined, has also been in medal-winning form this week with silver in the downhill.

The women’s sitting will feature a continuation of the rivalry between German Paralympic champion Anna Schaffelhuber and Austria’s world champion Claudia Loesch. The pair have one gold medal each after two races.

Schaffelhuber’s 19-year-old teammate Anna-Lena Forster is also a face to watch, having won silver in the event at Sochi 2014 and finishing on the podium at IPC Alpine Skiing World Cups in 2014-15.

Russia’s super-combined Paralympic champion Alexey Bugaev will be trying for his third world title in the men’s standing. Austria’s Matthias Lanzinger, a double silver medallist and the reigning super-combined world champion, will be looking to go out on a high after announcing that Panorama 2015 will be his last competitive event.

Also going for triple gold at Panorama 2015 is France’s world and Paralympic champion Marie Bochet in the women’s standing. Her German rival Andrea Rothfuss will still be following her closely down the hill, as will Russia’s Mariia Papulova who has won her first Worlds medals this week.

There is Canadian interest in Alana Ramsey and Erin Latimer.

Russian Paralympic champion Valerii Redkozubov, with guide Evgeny Geroev, has his best chance yet to test his form in the men’s visually impaired. Slovakia’s 2013 silver medallist Miroslav Haraus, guided by Maros Hudik, and Redkozubov’s compatriot bronze medallist Ivan Frantcev with guide German Agranovskii will also line-up.

Rounding off athletes in the hunt for their third gold medals is Australia’s Melissa Perrine in the women’s visually impaired. Perrine beat super-G world champion Aleksandra Frantceva on Thursday (5 March) and will be going for a similar upset in the super-combined, with the Russian the reigning world and Paralympic title holder.

Panorama 2015, featuring over 100 athletes from 23 countries, will be streamed live at www.Panorama2015.com alongside live results. Viewers in the US can watch via US Paralympics website and in Canada at CBC.ca/Sports.

Official results will be posted at IPC Alpine Skiing’s calendar and results page.

Images from each day will be available at the IPC's Flickr page. Media wishing to receive high resolution images should contact Lucy.Dominy@paralympic.org.

Athlete interviews for broadcasters are also available. Contact jose.dominguez@paralympic.org for more details.

Images from each day will be available at the IPC's Flickr page. Media wishing to receive high resolution images should contact Lucy.Dominy@paralympic.org.

Live updates and behind the scenes will be available at IPC Alpine Skiing's Facebook page, Twitter account and @Paralympics Instagram.