ParalympicsGB’s alpine skiers had a strong first day of competition (Sunday March 14), in which Sean Rose finished eighth in the men’s Slalom while both Kelly Gallagher and Anna Turney secured sixth place finishes in the women’s event.
It was a challenging first day of competition in Whistler following a complete revision of the racing schedule yesterday and the difficult conditions meant that several athletes fell in competition, but the British skiers performed well.
Team manager Dave Chugg was pleased with the team’s performance:
“The girls skied out of their skins today and, although their form was showing good signs, to perform like that with all the pressure at a Paralympic games was very impressive.
“Sean favours the speed events and hasn’t finished a World Cup Slalom this season so eighth place is a great result for him as well. We’re in a good place before Tuesday’s GS.”
Gallagher, competing in the visually-impaired event, finished eighth in her first run and then put in an outstanding second run which lifted her two positions in the rankings. Her sixth place finish is an excellent result for the young athlete given she has only been competing just over a year.
A clearly delighted Gallagher said: “I’m immensely proud. We were secretly hoping for top five but the first run I was really nervous so I felt really proud after my second run. It was really good coming into the finish area knowing that I’d finished two runs and I hadn’t fallen.
With this event complete, Gallagher can now focus on her preferred event, the Giant Slalom.
“Slalom isn’t my best event, I find I can’t really enjoy it. I get nervous because the gates are so small and I can’t really see them,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the GS.”
Meanwhile, sit-skier Anna Turney also handled the difficult conditions well, holding her nerve when several other athletes crashed out of the race.
“I’m really pleased,” said Turney. “I’m happy with sixth. In the first run the snow was more challenging so I found the first run harder, but I just fought through it and got to the bottom. In the second run I felt I was a lot more fluid and smooth.
Like Gallagher, Turney believes her best in still to come: “Usually I’m better at the GS, though, so I’m looking forward to Tuesday,” she said.
In the sitting event of the men’s Slalom competition, Sean Rose finished eighth.
Rose was lying in 15th after his first run but a strong performance in his second run, combined with three of the higher-ranked athletes including first-run leader Jurgen Egle falling, meant he secured a final rank of eighth.
“I’ve been doing lots of speed training because originally the schedule had the speed events first but obviously the schedule has changed, so it was a bit strange to go into Slalom,” he said.
“I had a terrible first run but made up for it in my second run so I was pleased by the end of the day.”
In the same event, Britain ’s Tim Farr finished 20th and Talan Skeels-Piggins finished 31st.
Britain’s Jane Sowerby missed a gate in her first run so did not qualify for the second run, while in the men’s sitting event Britain ’s Russell Docker fell and did not complete his first run.
The ParalympicsGB wheelchair curling team will play Switzerland in their next round-robin match at 18.00 local time.
Results for Sunday March 14 (featuring GB athletes only):
For full results see http://www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/schedule—results/
Alpine Skiing (top ten plus British competitors)
Women’s Slalom – visually-impaired
1 Austria GASTEIGER Sabine 2:00.56
2 Canada FOREST Viviane 2:01.45
3 Australia GALLAGHER Jessica 2:04.35
4 Switzerland BAUMGARTNER Nadja 2:06.99
5 Slovakia FARKASOVA Henrieta 2:13.66
6 Great Britain GALLAGHER Kelly 2:15.26
7 Belgium de TROYER Natasha 2:18.19
8 Australia PERRINE Melissa 2:22.47
9 Spain COHI FORNELL Anna 2:24.32
10 Czech Republic KULISKOVA Anna 2:33.57
Women’s Slalom – sitting
1 Austria LOESCH Claudia 2:12.05
2 United States VICTOR Stephani 2:12.63
3 Japan OBINATA Kuniko 2:18.60
4 Germany SCHAFFELHUBER Anna 2:20.35
5 United States STEPHENS Laurie 2:28.89
6 Great Britain TURNEY Anna 2:40.83
7 United States LOWERY Luba 2:43.49
8 United States NICHOLS Alana 2:46.41
9 Sweden OTTOSSON EIDE Linnea 2:56.75
Men’s Slalom – sitting
1 Germany BRAXENTHALER Martin 1:41.63
2 Canada DUECK Josh 1:46.29
3 Austria BONADIMANN Philipp 1:46.34
4 Austria KAPFINGER Andreas 1:48.46
5 Austria SAMPL Reinhold 1:50.02
6 Japan KANO Akira 1:52.31
7 Japan MORII Taiki 1:52.55
8 Great Britain ROSE Sean 1:52.74
9 United States BURNETT Carl 1:53.27
10 United States WALKER Tyler 1:53.34
Other GB results:
20 Great Britain FARR Timothy 2:03.28
31 Great Britain SKEELS-PIGGINS Talan 2:29.65
