Athletes Race Through Super-G and Super Combined in Canada

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals in Whistler continued with a Super Combined and Super-G race on 12 March.

In the Men’s Sitting category, Japanese Suzuki Takeshi won the Super-G race in a time of 1:15.74. Christopher Devlin-Young (USA) came in second, followed by German Martin Braxenthaler, who in return won the Super Combined race and also finished first in the Super Combined World Cup Point List. Devlin-Young won the overall Super-G World Cup.

Australian Cameron Rahls-Rabula won the Super-G as well as the Super Combined event in the Men’s Standing category. Gerd Schoenfelder (GER) from Germany finished second in both events, whereas Toby Kane (AUS) took third place in the Super-G and Adam Hall (NZL) in the Super Combined respectively. The overall rankings were won by Schoenfelder.

Jon Santacana and his guide Miguel Galindo won the gold medal in the Super Combined race in the Men’s Visually Impaired category in a time of 2:09.09. Second place was taken by Italian Gianmaria Dal Maistro (guide Tommaso Balasso) and Slovakian Jakub Krako (guide Juraj Medera) came in third. Krako, in return, won the Super-G race, followed by Santacana and Dal Maistro. Santacana managed to take first place in the overall Super-G World Cup and the overall Super Combined World Cup.

In the Women’s Visually Impaired category, Slovakian Henrieta Farkasova and her guide Natalia Subrtova finished first in the Super-G and Super Combined, followed by Viviane Forest and her guide Lindsay Debou (CAN). Natasha de Troyer and her guide Diego Van de Voorde from Belgium came in third place. Forest won the overall Super Combined Ranking with 280 points whereas Farkasova won the overall Super-G World Cup.

Lauren Woolstencroft (CAN), in the Women’s Standing category, won the Super-G and Super Combined. In both races she was followed by Melania Corradini (ITA) and Petra Smarzova (SVK). Woolstencroft also won the overall Super-G World Cup with 300 points and Corradini won the overall Super Combined World Cup.

The Women’s Sitting Category Super-G race was won by Canadian Kimberly Joines in a time of 1:29.98. Laurie Stephens (USA) and Claudia Loesch (AUT) came in second and third respectively. The Super Combined race was won by Stephens followed by Loesch and Japanese Tatsuko Aoki. In the overall World Cup rankings, Loesch took first place in the Super Combined and Joines in the Super G.

Today’s races came as the Paralympic Movement marked exactly one year to the start of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Residents of Whistler marked the one-year-out with a celebration featuring remarks from Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed and CPC Chef de Mission Blair McIntosh as well as a traditional First Nations performance from the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre, a countdown cake as well as photo opportunities with Sumi, the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games mascot. The event was part of celebrations that were held across the country.

The IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals, an official test event for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, continue throughout Saturday, with a Giant Slalom race on Friday and a Slalom race on Saturday.