Paralympic hopefuls one step closer to their goal at 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games
by Brown Bear - August 31st, 2009. Filed under: Events, Latest News, Ski Areas, South Island.Competition was intense in the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games adaptive slalom, which was held on a World Cup standard course at Coronet Peak today, with Australia and Germany winning two golds apiece and the third going to the United States.
New Zealand’s stand out performer 21-year-old Adam Hall, ranked second in slalom in the world, won silver in the men’s standing category to the excitement of the large crow gathered to watch the highly specialised event.
The course was set on the slalom hill in the Rocky Gully Arena and International Paralympic Committee Race Director Erik Petersen of the USA said it was a challenging track making for a great race.
“The Rocky Gully course is very similar to the course which will be set at Whistler for the 2010 Winter Olympics so it was good for the athletes to experience it and the likely conditions they will encounter at the Olympics.”
Thirty eight athletes representing Germany, USA, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Japan, Serbia, Switzerland, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand competed in five separate divisions.
The hotly contested men’s standing division was won by Australia’s Toby Kane who was a bronze medallist in the 2006 Winter Olympics Super G. He put together the two fastest runs to win in a combined time of 1.30.84. Adam Hall took out second in 1.35.94 while Australia’s Mitchell Gourley a member of the Australian Paralympics team finished third in 1.42.82.
Kane was pleased to win the inaugural 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games title, particularly in the tough conditions which saw the demise of top ranked skiers Gerd Schoenfelder of Germany and Thomas Pfyl of Switzerland.
Hall was disappointed with his first run but after changing his equipment put in a strong, fast second run to give him the silver medal. “I am very happy with my result. It was pretty challenging and a lot of the top guys in the field didn’t finish. You certainly had to ski smart.”
World Cup skier and Paralympian Martin Braxenthaler of Germany won his second Winter Games gold medal when he took out the men’s sitting slalom title by a clear margin. He won the giant slalom yesterday (August 28), and today added to his medal haul when he completed the race in a combined time of 1.30.47, ahead of Erik Bayindirli of the USA Disabled Ski Team who clocked 1.53.64. Great Britain’s Timothy Farr, who is considered one of his country’s best Olympic medal hopes in the 2010 Paralympics, won bronze in 1.55.21.
New Zealand’s Peter Williams of Wanaka, who is vying for a place in the 2010 Paralympics team for Vancouver, turned in a fast second run to put him in fourth place overall. He had the quickest second run behind Braxenthaler.
The women’s visually impaired gold medal was won by Jessica Gallagher of Australia and her guide Eric Bickerton in 1.59.33, heading off Caitlin Sarubbi and guide Gwynn Watkins of the United States, who finished in 2.02.73 making it her second Winter Games silver medal.
Germany’s Andrea Rothfuss continued her form to win her second gold medal of the Winter Games when she clearly won the women’s standing division in 1.45.65. Australia’s Emily Jansen, who also took out the silver medal in yesterday’s giant slalom, was second in 2.12.36.
USA’s Alana Nichols also made it a double gold when she won the sitting women’s slalom in 2.37.03. Two other competitors, Anna Tourney and Jane Sowerby, both of Great Britain failed to finish the race.
The alpine programme continues at Coronet Peak tomorrow (August 30) with the ANC Continental Cup men’s and women’s slaloms in Rocky Gully. The Queenstown Resort College Big Air will be staged on the Shirtfront leading into the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games closing ceremony, broadcast live on Sky TV and featuring fireworks, aerials and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key from 4.00pm on the Coronet Peak deck.
