PARALYMPICS: Laurie Stephens wins gold in mono-ski super G

PARALYMPICS: Laurie Stephens wins gold in mono-ski super G{mosimage}In her first Paralympic Winter Games, 22-year-old Laurie Stephens has already earned herself two gold medals in as many races. Following her gold-worthy downhill race on Sunday, Stephens finished on top once again in today’s super G with a time of 1 minute 19.16 seconds, more than three seconds faster than her nearest competitor.

In the men’s field, Nick Catanzarite led the Americans with a fourth place finish, a mere .08 seconds away from Bronze.

‘I would’ve liked to have medaled, but I had a great run. My head was in it. I wanted to go fast and gave it all I had’ said Catanzarite. ‘I needed this. I was losing confidence after the downhill’ he said about Sunday’s event, in which he posted a DNF.

Only one other U.S. skier found a top-10 spot in the men’s super G today. Kevin Bramble, who took the gold in the downhill, finished 10th with a time of 1:17.69.

U.S. favorite Chris Devlin-Young, who led the super G 2005-06 World Cup standings, did not finish due to a fall in the race. ‘I made a little mistake that bit me. I paid for it’ he said.

‘The hill and the course suited most of the guys but we weren’t able to execute’ said Head Coach Kevin Jardine.

Earlier this week, it was Stephens’ first-place finish in the Downhill that gave her immediate notoriety at the Games that is, for those who weren’t already following her nascent, yet stellar, skiing career.

Stephens has held the overall title in World Cup standings for three years in a row now and continues to dominate in Sestriere.

After today’s super G win, Stephens said, ‘I was just letting it go out there. I always want to ski the best I can, and just letting it go is part of it.’

Teammate and direct competitor Stephani Victor said she was inspired by Laurie’s performance today. ‘I watched her at the start and she just went for it. It’s like she gave me permission to have fun and just let it go’ Victor said.

Victor, who didn’t race in the downhill because of a crash during her training run, is glad to get back on the hill. ‘I’ve had dreams about this race course. I had a great race from the start wand to the finish line and I can’t complain about .40 seconds [the difference between her fourth place finish and the bronze medalist]’ she said.

In preparation for the GS later this week, Jardine wants the team to keep looking forward. ‘After today, a lot of these guys want another chance’ he said. ‘They’ll have it in the GS.’

Alpine skiing competition takes a break March 15. Competition resumes at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 16 with the men’s and women’s standing GS. The GS sitting and visually impaired (VI) categories race on Friday, March 17.

IX PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Sestriere Borgata, Italy March 14, 2006

Women’s Super-G (Sitting)
1. Laurie Stephens (Wenham, Mass.) 1:19.16
2. Kuniko Obinata (JPN) 1:22.22
3. Kimberley Joines (CAN) 1:23.04
4. Stephani Victor (Park City, Utah) 1:23.44
– – –
8. Lacey Heward (Boise, Idaho) 1:27.60

Men’s Super-G (Sitting)
1. Martin Braxenthaler (GER) 1:12.83
2. Harald Eder (AUT) 1:14.43
3. Robert Froehle (AUT) 1:15.04
4. Nick Cataznarite (Winter Park, Colo.) 1:15.12
– – –
10. Kevin Bramble (Truckee, Calif.) 1:17.69
11. Tyler Walker (Franconia, N.H.) 1:17.75
– – –
19. Roger Lee (Winter Park, Colo.) 1:21.05
– – –
28. Joe Tompkins (Juneau, Ala.) 1:23.27
– – –
31. Carl Burnett (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) 1:24.26
32. Gerald Hayden (Fresno, Calif.) 1:24.49

Did Not Finish (DNF)
Chris Devlin-Young (Campton, N.H.)

The U.S. Paralympic Ski Team did not have any athletes competing in the Visually Impaired category.

– USOC