TORINO 2006 PARALYMPICS WINTER GAMES March 10-19

[BOREALIS]

Cross-Country Skiing: Russia and United States Take a Leading Role

Mar 15 2006

On the fifth day of the Paralympic Winter Games, in the Nordic Skiing competitions, Francesca Porcellato and Enzo Maisiello, running away on their sledge, were a stone’s throw away from the bronze medal. In the end, the “Trevigiana” finished in ninth place in the 5 km event and Maisiello in sixth place.

Doctor Emernegildo Arnoldi, 52-year-old oncologist, was also competing: his 27th place is also worth a medal. The Americans and Russians monopolised the medals in the middle cross-country skiing distances and Russia now seems unmatchable in the overall medal table, with 10 golds, 9 silvers and 5 bronzes. In the 10 km for the blind and visually impaired, the Canadian Brian McKeever, who sometimes also competes in the World Cup for able-bodied athletes, was from a different planet.

Guided by his brother Robin, he inflicted a whopping gap, almost 1' and 19" away from the runner-up, the Byelorussian Shaptsiaboi, a gap which then went down to 46" following the calculations made with the indexes which lengthen the time of those running with minor handicaps. In the standing 10 km event, where the Italian Daniele Stefanoni finished in fifteenth place, the Paralympic title went to the American Steven Cook from Salt Lake City where, in 2002, at the Paralympic Winter Games, he finished in second place four times, three in individual competitions, the fourth in the relay.

In the other competitions of Pragelato, Eastern Europe dominated: three Russians finished on the highest spot of the podium, Taras Kryjanovski and Anna Burmistrova in the sitting 10 km and Lioubov Vasileva in the women’s visually impaired 10 km; finally, the Ukrainian Olena Iurkovska ruled in the sitting 5 km event. Tomorrow is the sixth day of the Paralympic Winter Games with the blind category giant slalom.

Luca Rolandi


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