Winter Paralympics preview: Para alpine skiing day four

The Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre will host three men's giant slalom races on Thursday (10 March), the fourth day of competition in Para alpine skiing at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. 

Athletes will compete in two runs on each class and here are the ones to watch!

 VISION IMPAIRED EVENT

Italy's Giacomo Bertagnolli is a tough athlete to crack. Not even COVID-19 stopped him from winning the gold medal at the Lillehammer 2021 Worlds only days after recovering from the coronavirus.

The 23-year-old from Cavalese is preparing for his second Winter Paralympics. He won four medals in PyeongChang including gold in giant slalom.

In order to defend his title, Bertagnolli will have to face the new kid on the block. Austria's 16-year-old sensation Johannes Aigner shocked the world, winning four medals at Lillehammer 2021. He lost to Bertagnolli in the giant slalom settling for silver.

Bertagnolli already beat Aigner in Beijing taking gold in the super-combined with the Austrian picking the silver and Great Britain's Neil Simpson the bronze. The trio also stepped on the podium in the super-G but in a different order: Simpson first, Bertagnolli second and Aigner third. 

Slovakia's Jakub Krako, the Paralympic champion from Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, will be aiming for his first medal at Beijing 2022.

French skier Hyacinthe Deleplace took the bronze in the men's giant slalom at the World Championships in Lillehammer. He also clinched a medal of the same colour in the downhill event in China, his only so far in the Winter Games.

STANDING EVENT

The men's giant slalom standing event is the second on Thursday's programme. Switzerland’s Theo Gmur is the defending Paralympic champion from PyeongChang 2018 and bronze medallist at this year's World Championships.

The 25-year-old from Sion won three gold medals at the last Games but so far only visited the podium in China in the men's downhill event finishing in third place. 

Giant slalom silver medallist in the World Championships, France’s Arthur Bauchet already triumphed in the men's downhill and super-combined at Beijing 2022. 

Canada’s Alexis Guimond was only fifth in Lillehammer, but took the Paralympic bronze four years ago. Alongside USA's Thomas Walsh and Italy's Federico Pelizzari he is among the names who can pull a surprise in Yanqing.

SITTING EVENT

Norway's Jesper Pedersen is the athlete to beat in the men's giant slalom sitting event which closes the competition programme on Thursday. 

The 22-year-old from Bergen is the defending Paralympic champion from PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games and the world title holder from Lillehammer 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships in January this year.

Pedersen added another giant slalom medal at the World Championships in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, in 2019. He has already bagged two golds in Beijing in the men's super-G and super-combined.

His main rival in the Para alpine skiing circuit in the last years has been Jeroen Kampschreur from the Netherlands, who picked his first medal in Beijing finishing second behind Pedersen in the super-combined - after frustrating races in the downhill and super-G events.

Veteran Japanese skier Taiki Morii is in great form with two bronze medals to his name in Beijing. He still places the silver medal in the giant slalom at Turin 2006 as his most memorable moment in the Games.

Igor Sikorski from Poland is another athlete who could stand in Pedersen's way of winning back-to-back Paralympic gold in giant slalom. Sikorski won bronze at the PyeongChang 2018 and levelled up his podium finish to silver at the recent Lillehammer 2021 Worlds.

Live streaming and live results from Beijing 2022 will be available on Paralympic.org. You can follow all the action, behind the scenes and news on World Para Snow Sports social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.