Hall Asserts his Dominance in Slalom

“Oh, I also landed a Bronze in todays Slalom which for me is almost Golden!”

Medals were spread out across a broad field of competitors on the final day of at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing World Cup in Winter Park, Colorado, USA. The 18 medals up for grabs in Friday’s (9 March) Slalom event went to skiers from 13 nations.

New Zealand’s Adam Hall showed he was still the one to beat in the men’s Slalom Standing to take gold. Hall was 2.34 seconds ahead of Russia’s Alexandr Alyabyev, who dominated the European leg of the World Cup, where Hall did not compete.

Despite having a disappointing second run, Alyabyev clung on to the second position and Switzerland’s Michael Bruegger took bronze. Alyabyev and Bruegger are first and second in the overall World Cup rankings for Slalom, followed by Switzerland’s Thomas Pfyl, who missed out on a medal after finishing in 12th place on the first run.

In the women’s Slalom Standing, France’s Marie Bochet continues to dominate the World Cup rankings after winning gold in Colorado with a five-second margin. Germany’s Andrea Rothfuss did not finish, allowing Italy’s Melania Corradini to take silver. Austria Danja Haslacher won bronze after a very strong second run.

Germany’s Thomas Nolte edged ahead in the men’s Slalom Sitting to take his first World Cup gold in the event, after failing to finish in Arte Terme and La Molina. Austria’s Philipp Bonadimann finished just 0.19 seconds behind to take silver and Japan’s Takeshi Suzuki won bronze.

The World Cup rankings now show Bonadimann leading, followed by Suzuki and USA’s Tyler Walker, who came fourth in last week’s event.

In the women’s Slalom Sitting, Canada’s Kimberly Joines, who made a comeback this season after injuries, pushed ahead to gold. Germany’s Anna Schaffelhuber came a close second, just 1.16 seconds behind, and USA’s Alana Nichols was delighted to take bronze.

“Oh, I also landed a Bronze in todays Slalom which for me is almost Golden,” she tweeted from @alananichols21.

In the men’s Slalom Visually Impaired, Russia’s Valery Redkozubov won gold, despite having a slower second run. He finished just 0.44 seconds ahead of Spain’s Yon Santacana Maiztegui. Slovakia’s Miroslav Haraus was fastest overall in the second run, which brought him bronze. These three positions are also reflected in the overall World Cup rankings.

Slovakia’s Henrieta Farkasova tops the World Cup rankings in the women’s Slalom Visually Impaired after winning Friday’s Slalom. Russia’s Alexandra Frantseva won silver and USA’s Danelle Umstead came in third.

The IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup continues in Panorama, Canada from 13-16 March with the finals in Super-G, Super Combined, Giant Slalom and Slalom.