Team USA Do Well in World Cup Event Ahead of World Champs

Arta Terme, ITALY – Team USA started out strongly with three silver medals in giant slalom competition last Friday (7 January) at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing World Cup and continued to rack up accolades throughout the weekend.

On Friday, Danelle Umstead (Taos, N.M.), along with guide and husband, Rob Umstead, started things off in the women’s visually impaired giant slalom, winning silver with a time of 3:06.29. In the women’s sitting giant slalom, Alana Nichols (Farmington, N.M.) also took the silver with a time of 3:06.69.

For the men, Chris Devlin-Young (Campton, N.H.) won silver in the sitting giant slalom with a time of 2:30.12.

Umstead continued her stellar performance on the second day of competition, earning another silver medal in the women’s visually impaired giant slalom with a time of 3:13.73. Nichols followed suit with silver in the women’s sitting giant slalom with a time of 3:00.8.

Umstead is looking to build on a 2010 season where she won two bronze medals (downhill & super combined) at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada.

On Monday, Nichols was the only American to medal with silver in the women’s sitting slalom with a time of 2:42.58. Nichols picked up right where she left off in 2010; she won four medals at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, the most of any U.S. athlete: gold medal, giant slalom and downhill; silver medal, super G; bronze, super combined.

This World Cup event serves as a primer for Team USA who is gearing up for the 2011 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships which starts on 15 January and runs until 23 January in Sestriere, Italy.