Second day at IPC Para-alpine World Championships at La Molina delivers surprises

Friday, February 22, 2013

Yesterday in La Molina, Spain at the IPC Alpine World Championships, the Super-G event delivered several surprises — including a major schedule change; the favorite in the women’s visually impaired group failing to medal; one favourite in the women’s sitting group who did not start and another who did not finish; and in the men’s sitting group, a gold medal race won by less than a tenth of a second.

The day started off on a different day than the discipline was originally scheduled for: it was supposed to take place tomorrow instead but the prediction of bad weather led to a date change. In the first event of the morning, the Women Super-G Visually Impaired final, Russian Alexandra Frantseva and guide Pavel Zabotin won the gold. Favourite Henrieta Farkašová from Slovakia, who had won the gold in the downhill yesterday and was quoted as saying her goal was to win five gold medals in these Championships, failed to medal at all in the Super-G. Two Britons completed the women’s visually impaired podium with yesterday’s downhill bronze medalist Kelly Gallagher and guide Charlotte Evans picking up a silver medal, and Jade Etherington and guide John Clark, the bronze.

In the Super-G Women’s Standing final, Frenchwoman Marie Bochet won the gold, her second so far in these Championships after her victory yesterday in the downhill. Her teammate Solene Jambaque got the silver, and Inga Medvedeva from Russia won the bronze. In the Men’s Visually Impaired final, Jon Santacana and his guide Miguel Galindo successfully defended their title and also won their second gold at the Championships. Chris Williamson and Robin Femy from Canada came in second, adding another silver to the one they won yesterday, and Swiss Hugo Thomas and guide Luana Bergamin won the bronze. Alessandro Daldoss from Italy, who had medaled yesterday, fell down and Did Not Finish.

In the Men’s Standing category, the gold went to Markus Salcher from Austria, also his second in these Championships. The silver went to another Austrian, Matthias Lanzinger, whilst Swiss Michael Bruegger won the bronze.

Claudia Loesch from Austria won the gold in the Women Sitting category, ahead of German Anna Schaffelhuber, silver, and Laurie Stephens from the USA, bronze. One of the favourites, Alana Nichols from the USA, Did Not Start the race, and another, Kimberly Joines from Canada, Did Not Finish it. However, arguably the race of the day was the Men’s Sitting class. Taiki Morii from Japan beat Yohann Taberlet from France by only 0.01 seconds. The bronze went to another Japanese skier, Akira Kano.

Today the skiers are to have a free day, and competition is scheduled to resume on Saturday with the Slalom event.