BRITAIN’S Paralympic skiers suffered several setbacks yesterday as they competed in the sitting discipline of the Super-G.
Talan Skeels-Piggins was most of the way down his run when his race was yellow-flagged and he was forced to return to the top of the mountain to start again. Second time around he finished in 1:37.62, giving him a final ranking of 25th.
“It was hard to start again,” said Skeels-Piggins. “I knew what was coming on the course but it was very icy and I couldn’t get an edge no matter how hard I worked. The ice was so packed that I just slid. I’m disappointed because I know that on different snow there are guys up there that I have beaten and the first run was going well before I was yellow-flagged.”
Speaking of his experience of his first Paralympic Games, he said: “It’s been a wonderful experience. I can’t say enough good things about it. The team has been welcomed, we’ve had great support and the Village has been fantastic. I’ve done three starts and three finishes, and to hear everyone cheering you on lifts you.
“Hopefully what we have done will get reported back home to tell people that life still goes on, so that even if you have lost an arm or a leg, you can still throw yourself down a mountain – which is an incredible feat.
Skeels-Piggins expressed his desire to compete again, saying “I’d love to go again in Sochi. I’ve learnt such a lot here, about how to handle the pressure and how things work. After another four years of training, I’ll be in really good shape. The GB team has got a lot of new blood coming through and I think we’ll be even stronger in Sochi .”
Meanwhile, Russell Docker nearly crashed in his race but recovered to complete the course. The setback cost him valuable time, however, and he finished in 1:44.07 for a rank of 29th.
“Mentally I was hoping that today was going to be like yesterday and I could gain confidence over the first few turns but it just wasn’t to be,” admitted Docker.
After competing for his country at three Paralympic Games, he will now consider his future in the sport:
“Four years for just 1 minute 30 seconds and then not to get it right – that’s too much for me,” he said.
“Yesterday I thought ‘sod it, that’s it for me, I’m finished’ but for me the result is only half of why I ski. It’s my passion for skiing really that keeps me going – I just love it. I’m going to go for the World Championships next year but I don’t think I have it in me to do another four year cycle. Funding will definitely decide my destiny.”
Sean Rose suffered equipment failure when his binding popped after going over a compression and did not complete the course.
“I was skiing exactly how I wanted to ski, but I suppose I should take some comfort from the fact that it was equipment failure not me that ended the race,” he said. “I was skiing really well. It is a frustrating sport. After the crash as I skied down, I was thinking to myself ‘I could have just ripped this course’. But I’ll look forward to tomorrow.”
In a further revision of the alpine skiing schedule, Sean Rose will now compete in the Super-Combined today. There will be no alpine skiing events tomorrow.
Results for Friday March 19 (featuring GB athletes only):
Alpine Skiing (top ten plus British competitors)
Men’s Super-G – sitting
1 Japan KANO Akira 1:19.98
2 Germany BRAXENTHALER Martin 1:20.63
3 Japan MORII Taiki 1:20.98
4 USA DEVLIN-YOUNG Christopher 1:21.00
5 Japan SUZUKI Takeshi 1:22.28
6 Austria FROHLE Robert 1:24.00
7 Austria SAMPL Reinhold 1:24.05
8 USA CALHOUN Heath 1:24.77
9 France TABERLET Yohann 1:24.79
10 Austria DORN Dietmar 1:24.94
25 Great Britain SKEELS-PIGGINS Talan 1:37.62
29 Great Britain DOCKER Russell 1:44.07
DNF Great Britain ROSE Sean
