PyeongChang 2018 Sport Week: Five alpine skiing storylines

A highly competitive display is expected at March’s Paralympic Winter Games 12 Jan 2018
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a female Para alpine skier in action

Henrieta Farkasova looks set to dominate the women's vision impaired category at PyeongChang 2018

ⒸLuc Percival
By IPC

1. Henrieta Farkasova seeks a clean sweep

The Slovakian has almost never missed a podium at a major international competition. The multiple-Paralympic and four-time Tarvisio 2017 world champion seeks to add more medals to her tally in the women’s vision impaired. Farkasova had a successful start of the season, achieving multiple World Cup victories. It will be hard for her rivals to beat her in PyeongChang if she maintains this level.

2. Can Marie Bochet continue her winning ways?

After winning her first six World Cup races of the season, four-time Sochi 2014 champion Marie Bochet confirmed her status as the strongest candidate for Paralympic gold in the women’s standing. Germany’s Paralympic gold medallist Andrea Rothfuss, however, has proven multiple times she is more than capable of causing an upset.

3. Heavyweights fight for gold

The men’s vision impaired will pit some heavyweights against each other. Despite his youth, Canadian 20-year-old Mac Marcoux has already won one Paralympic and four world titles and will be among the favourites in PyeongChang. Others to look out for are Slovakia’s four-time Paralympic champion Jakub Krako and Spain’s triple Paralympic gold medallist Jon Santacana.

4. Teenage talents

The Netherlands’ Jeroen Kampschreur burst onto the international scene by sealing four golds in the men’s sitting at the 2017 World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy, only one year before the Paralympic Winter Games. Norway’s Jesper Pedersen will be one of his big rivals this season as he has so far won four World Cup races. Another skier to keep an eye on is Italy’s world champion Giacomo Bertagnolli.

5. Austrian hope

Two-time Tarvisio 2017 world champion Markus Salcher seeks to outdo at PyeongChang 2018 his performance from Sochi 2014, where he won golds in both the men’s downhill and super-G standing, and bronze in the giant slalom at Sochi 2014. His main opponent will be neutral athlete Alexey Bugaev, who also won two Paralympic titles at the last Winter Games and has secured five World Cup wins so far this season.

 

The Paralympic Winter Games take place in PyeongChang, South Korea from 9-18 March. Tickets can be purchased here.