Para alpine skiing season kicks off in St. Moritz

The 2023-24 Para alpine skiing season kicked off with two downhill races in St. Moritz, Switzerland, this weekend (16-17 December). High winds allowed for only one training run the day before the competition, but for the weekend, the weather Gods cooperated allowing for a great two days of action. 

The second Para Alpine Skiing World Cup of the season is taking place in Steinach am Brenner, Austria, for two Super-G and two Giant Slalom races, from 20-22 December. 

First World Cup of the year

In the women/vision-impaired category, young talent Alexandra Rexova of Slovakia and her guide, Hugo Rybar, outpaced their competitors and secured the first victory of the new season. She crossed the line in 1 minute, 19.54 seconds, finishing ahead of Great Britain’s Menna Fitzpatrick (1:21.24) and Sara Choi (1:23.10) of the Republic of Korea.

On the second day, Fitzpatrick, along with her guide Katie Guest, took their revenge, winning the downhill ahead of Choi and her guide Sanghyun Jung, as well as the Slovakian pair.

The women/standing category saw French athletes dominate, with the experienced Bochet securing victories in both races ahead of her compatriot Aurélie Richard. The podium was completed by Anna-Maria Rieder of Germany on the first day and Frédérique Turgeon of Canada on the second.

In the women’s sitting category, the sole woman competitor, Forster delivered two solid races on the picturesque Corviglia slope.

Paralympic stars return

Youth prevailed in the men/vision-impaired category, with the Austrian pair Johannes Aigner and Nico Haberl winning both races. Aigner, who won five medals including two golds at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics, set the fastest time in both races across all categories. French and Italian pairs, Hyacinthe Deleplace with guide Roy Piccard and Giacomo Bertagnolli with guide Andrea Ravelli, both secured silver and bronze medals. 

Robin Cuche of Switzerland also celebrated a double victory in the men/standing category, leading ahead of Arthur Bauchet of France on the first day and Alexis Guimond of Canada on the second, earning two medals. 

The men/sitting category witnessed a contest between five-time Paralympic gold medallist Jesper Pedersen of Norway and Jeroen Kampschreur, a two-time Paralympic medallist from the Netherlands.

Pedersen won the first downhill event on 16 December, finishing 1.69 seconds ahead of Kampschreur. But the Dutch skier, who was returning from a shoulder injury, won the race on the second day. Canada's Kurt Oatway of Canada completed the podium on the first day, and the Netherland's Niels De Langen on the second.