Top 10 rivalries at Sochi 2014

There will be 547 athletes from 45 countries competing at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Alpine skiing

Anna Schaffelhuber (Germany) – Claudia Loesch (Austria)

The two will be battling all week long the slopes for the top spot on the podium in the women’s sitting class. Schaffelhuber has dominated the 2013-14 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup circuit, but is still in search of her first Paralympic title. Loesch, despite coming in second and third most of this season, has two Paralympic titles to her name and won three events at the 2013 World Championships.

Marie Bochet (France) – Andrea Rothfuss (Germany)

While everyone will be looking to upset favoured six-time world champion Bochet in the women’s standing class, it is Rothfuss who has the best chance. The German enters her third Paralympics having won five Paralympic medals. Bochet, only 20, is entering the prime of her career after winning this season’s women’s overall World Cup title.

Aleksandra Frantceva (Russia) – Henrieta Farkasova (Slovakia)

These two women’s visually impaired skiers have been pushing each other to go faster on the slopes over the last Paralympic cycle. At the 2013 World Championships, Frantceva picked up three golds, with Farkasova notching two titles. Both are entering their second Paralympics expecting to be the top contender in their class.

Matthias Lanzinger (Austria) – Markus Salcher (Austria)

What is better than two rivals from the same country? The two standing skiers are both expected to make multiple appearances on the podium in Sochi, with many looking ahead to their super-G race on Sunday (9 March). Lanzinger is a former big-name able-bodied skier, while Salcher is a graduate of the IPC’s 2006 development and a two-time IPC Alpine Skiing world champion.

Nordic skiing

Brian McKeever (Canada) – Nikolay Polukhin (Russia)

McKeever is a five-time Paralympic champion and Polukhin has two Paralympic titles to his name, and the two men’s visually impaired cross-country skiers are expected to go head-to-head right up to the finish in Sochi. The Canadian was unbeatable at his home Games in 2010 in Vancouver, taking gold in the 1km sprint, as well as the 10km and 20km events.

Kozo Kubo (Japan) – Roman Petushkov (Russia)

This has been one of the fastest growing rivalries over the last Paralympic cycle, with Petushkov entering Sochi 2014 as the man to beat on the Nordic skiing trails and Kubo one of the sport’s rising stars. Petushkov, a five-time world champion still in search of his first Paralympic gold, won both the cross-country skiing and biathlon overall titles at the 2013-14 IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup.

Snowboard

Evan Strong (USA) – Mike Shea (USA)

Many are expecting an All-American rivalry in the men’s competition when snowboard makes its Paralympic debut on 14 March at the Rosa Kuhtor Alpine Centre. Strong has been consistently ranked No. 1 in the world, but Shea is coming off a season where he finished as the 2013-14 IPCAS Snowboard World Cup overall winner.

Ice sledge hockey

Canada-USA

If these two teams meet in the medal round at Sochi 2014, it will be the grudge match of all grudge matches. The USA, led by goaltender Steve Cash and forward Josh Pauls, are trying to defend their Paralympic title. Canada, powered by top scorers Greg Westlake and Brad Bowden, are the reigning world champions going for gold after failing to medal at Vancouver 2010 despite high expectations.

Norway-Sweden

As the first two countries to have ice sledge hockey teams, these nations have some of the most stories programmes in the record books. Look for Sweden’s budding young star Per Kasperi to challenge Norway’s veteran defenceman Rolf Pedersen on the ice when they face off on Tuesday (11 March).

Wheelchair curling

Canada-Sweden

These two teams finished one-two at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics and both expected to be in the medal hunt in Sochi. Canada are led by their flag bearer Sonja Gaudet and Sweden are anchored by skip Jalle Jungnell, both included on the IPC’s Ones to Watch list for the Games. They will face off against each other on Monday (10 March).

Related Images

Imagen

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Steve Cash has been deemed by many one of the best ice sledge hockey goaltenders in the world.

Imagen

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Aleksandra Frantceva is Russia's top visually impaired alpine skier heading into the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.