Paralympics Quick Hits Day 3: Back To The Alpine Slopes
Written by Lesley Ryder
Day 3 of the Paralympics began with a home course crowning in Visual Impaired Super-G. Chiara Mazzel of Italy won her first Paralympic gold medal, edging out Austria’s Veronika Aigner, who bested her in the Downhill event on Saturday. The two will continue to go head-to-head in these games in a thrilling battle of the Cortina slopes.
Slovakia’s Alexandra Rexova rounded out the podium to win bronze, collecting her second medal of the games.
In the standing category, Varvara Veronchikhina won Russia’s first gold medal at the Paralympics since 2014. Russia’s inclusion in this year’s games came after the International Paralympic Committee decided to overturn the ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus. The decision came under protest by several European nations as Russian military forces continue to occupy Ukraine.
Aurelie Richard of France briefly overtook Veronchikhina’s winning time, but she lost her line on the course. She nearly careened off track, but was able to save her turns and properly pass through the gates for her second silver medal of the games. Ebba Aarsjoe of Sweden claimed bronze, her second medal of the games.
In the sitting Super-G, Audrey Pascual Seco of Spain set the pace early, winning gold by a 6-second margin for Spain’s first gold medal of the games. She was expecting a challenge for the medal from reigning world champion Anna-Lena Forster of Germany. But midway through the course, Forster lost her line after gaining too much speed, and missed a crucial gate for a Did Not Finish designation.
Muraoka Momoka of Japan won silver, Japan’s first medal of the games, and China’s Liu Sitong won Bronze.
The Super-G competition was Muraoka’s first race since breaking her collarbone back in November. She told The Mainichi "I feel very pleased to have been able to properly return to Paralympic competition...But I was being careful not to injure myself further, so I didn't give 100 percent.”
Super-G Vision Impaired
Chiara Mazel - Italy (Guide: Nicola Cotti Cottini)
Veronika Aigner - Austria (Guide: Lilly Sammer)
Alexandra Rexova - Slovakia (Guide: Sofia Polak)
Super-G Standing
Varvara Veronchikhina - Russia
Aurelie Richard - France
Ebba Aarsjoe - Sweden
Super-G Sitting
Audrey Pascual Seco - Spain
Muraoka Momoka - Japan
Liu Sitong - China
China is picking up where they left off in the Beijing games, and lead the medal count after three days of competition. Ukraine’s dominance in Para Biathlon puts the nation’s athletes in second place, while the U.S., Canada, and Germany sit tied for third.
Up next
Tuesday’s schedule brings us back to the slopes for the Alpine Combined event starting at 4 AM Eastern time, followed by the Para Cross Country sprint classic competition, beginning at 5:25 AM.
