World Cup Finishes Super Combined Races

Athletes took to the slopes with high energy in the Super Combined races at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals in Aspen, USA.

In the Women’s Visually Impaired category, Spain’s Anna Cohi (B3) took first with guide Raquel Garcia in a 2:16.26 result. Coming in second and third were USA’s Danelle Umstead (B2) with guide Robert Umstead and Australia’s Melissa Perrine with guide Andrew Bor.

In the Women’s Standing category, French athletes took the top two positions with Solene Jambaque (LW9-2) in first and Marie Bochet (LW6/8-2) in second. USA’s Allison Jones came in third place. In the Sitting category, Japan’s Tatsuko Aoki (LW10-2) took first, followed by Claudia Loesch (LW11, AUT) and Alana Nichols (USA).

For the Men’s Visually Impaired category, France’s Nicolas Berejny (B2) with guide Sophie Troc took first with a result of 1:52.39. Coming in second and third were Italy’s Gianmaria Dal Maistro (B3) with guide Tommaso Balasso and Slovakia’s Norbert Holik (B3) with guide Lubos Bosela.

In the Men’s Standing category, Germany’s Gerd Schoenfelder (LW5/7-2) came in first with a result of 1:53.75. Coming in second and third place were Austria’s Robert Meusburger (LW4) and Australia’s Toby Kane (LW2). In the Sitting category, Germany’s Martin Braxenthaler (LW10-2) took first, and was followed by Japan’s Takeshi Suzuki (LW12-2) and Taiki Morii (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.