Successful IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Korea

A powerful performance from three German athletes gave their home country the number one position in the Team Competition, which officially ended the 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Korea, yesterday.

Andrea Rothfuss, Martin Braxenthaler and Ralf Frummet comprised the German Team, with a winning total time of 7:20.36. The German Team was followed by Austria’s Danja Haslacher, Harald Eder and Hubert Mandl with a second place time of 7:25.37. Coming in third position was Switzerland’s Karin Fasel, Thomas Pfyl and Michael Bruegger at 7:32.32. A total of 55 athletes competed yesterday at the Apollo 4 venue, which is located at the High 1 Ski Resort in Gangwon-Do, Korea. The start elevation of 1,220m sent the athletes down a vertical drop of 355m, to a finishing 865m.

The 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships ran from 19 February – 1 March, and were organized by the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled (KOSAD), the Korea Adaptive Ski Association (KASA) and the High 1 Ski Resort. The Championships brought in a total of 160 athletes from 25 different countries to the slopes in Korea.

The programme at High 1 Ski Resort included competitions in Slalom, Giant Slalom, SuperG, Super Combined and Downhill. Supporters to the event included the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean Paralympic Committee, the Seoul Olympic Sports Promotion Foundation, Gangwon-Do, the Korea Ski Association, Taebaek-si and Jeongseon-gun.

The World Championships began with the Slalom race, with Canada’s Lauren Woolstencroft taking the top position in the Women’s Standing category. Woolstencroft also took first in the SuperG and Downhill race. Impressive performances also came from Germany’s Gerd Schoenfelder, who took first in the Giant Slalom, Super Combined and Downhill race in the Men’s Standing Category. Sabine Gasteiger from Austria, with guide Emil Gasteiger took first in the Slalom and Giant Slalom race in the Visually Impaired category.

During the World Championships, the 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing Sport Forum also took place at the High 1 Hotel – Kangwonland. A total of 35 delegates, representing 20 different countries attended the forum, where a new point system was passed as a result. The formal implementation of the new system will start 1 July 2010, pending approval from the Governing Board.