Standing Giant Slalom, Mar 16: A Record Schoenfelder, Ladies’ Gold to Woolstencroft
Germany's Gerd Schoenfelder
Mar 16 2006
Sixteen medal, of which sixteen gold, three silver and one bronze in five edizions of the Winter Paralympic Games: these are the figures which describe the athlete-phenomenon of Alpine Paralympic Skiing, Gerd Schoenfelder. The German, with the gold medal from today’s Giant Slalom held in Borgata, is laid out to come first in the special chart of athletes with most medals in the history of the Winter Paralympics: “I don’t think I’m going to break any records “ Gerd had said on the occasion of his first gold medal won in the Sestriere Downhill “but I think I will get some satisfaction”. And that’s what happened. He ran an impeccable first heat, with a 2” advantage over the American Timothy Fox, who then fell to eighth position at the end of the competition, followed by a second aggressive heat, in which the German even bounced off track at one point.
A moment’s silence on the stands, then a boom of screaming came as Gerd reappeared on line, so one line that he triumphed in the most technical discipline of Alpine Skiing which got him in the Paralympic hall of fame. Behind him there was a bitter fight for the podium: thanks to two impeccable heats the Japanese Masahiko Tokai rose from third to second place expressing his satisfaction for an impeccable second run “I knew it would be tough, so I skied aggressively, attacking whenever I could”. On the lowest step we find Thomas Pfyl, author of an extraordinary remount to fifth position to the detriment of Austrian Robert Meusburger, fourth.
The Italians were not up to much in this Giant: best and only results was the 41st place of Ugo Bregant, not completely satisfied about his performance “The track was really technical, I did what I could and hope that the next Paralympics go better”. In the first heat Florian Planker was eliminated right away, the same for the second heat of the other Italian Christian Lanthaler.
The ladies’ race, missing the Italian Melania Corradini because of a contusion to her right knee in a fall during the Super-G, saw an absolute protagonist: Canadian Lauren Woolstencroft who had already won silver in the Super-G and won a difficult and technical Giant today, showing that the athlete possesses truly polyvalent qualities: “After the bitterness of the Downhill and the happiness for the silver in the Super-G, this gold has now given me the greatest satisfaction of my life”. After her came the very young German Andrea Rothfuss, class of 1989, first career medal, beating another youngster, French Solene Jambaque, at her third Paralympic medal “I am satisfied with this result: I was calm, but at the same time I found the right energy to do well and realize the lines I had imagined in recognition”.
Valentina Roberto
Germany's Gerd Schoenfelder
Mar 16 2006
Sixteen medal, of which sixteen gold, three silver and one bronze in five edizions of the Winter Paralympic Games: these are the figures which describe the athlete-phenomenon of Alpine Paralympic Skiing, Gerd Schoenfelder. The German, with the gold medal from today’s Giant Slalom held in Borgata, is laid out to come first in the special chart of athletes with most medals in the history of the Winter Paralympics: “I don’t think I’m going to break any records “ Gerd had said on the occasion of his first gold medal won in the Sestriere Downhill “but I think I will get some satisfaction”. And that’s what happened. He ran an impeccable first heat, with a 2” advantage over the American Timothy Fox, who then fell to eighth position at the end of the competition, followed by a second aggressive heat, in which the German even bounced off track at one point.
A moment’s silence on the stands, then a boom of screaming came as Gerd reappeared on line, so one line that he triumphed in the most technical discipline of Alpine Skiing which got him in the Paralympic hall of fame. Behind him there was a bitter fight for the podium: thanks to two impeccable heats the Japanese Masahiko Tokai rose from third to second place expressing his satisfaction for an impeccable second run “I knew it would be tough, so I skied aggressively, attacking whenever I could”. On the lowest step we find Thomas Pfyl, author of an extraordinary remount to fifth position to the detriment of Austrian Robert Meusburger, fourth.
The Italians were not up to much in this Giant: best and only results was the 41st place of Ugo Bregant, not completely satisfied about his performance “The track was really technical, I did what I could and hope that the next Paralympics go better”. In the first heat Florian Planker was eliminated right away, the same for the second heat of the other Italian Christian Lanthaler.
The ladies’ race, missing the Italian Melania Corradini because of a contusion to her right knee in a fall during the Super-G, saw an absolute protagonist: Canadian Lauren Woolstencroft who had already won silver in the Super-G and won a difficult and technical Giant today, showing that the athlete possesses truly polyvalent qualities: “After the bitterness of the Downhill and the happiness for the silver in the Super-G, this gold has now given me the greatest satisfaction of my life”. After her came the very young German Andrea Rothfuss, class of 1989, first career medal, beating another youngster, French Solene Jambaque, at her third Paralympic medal “I am satisfied with this result: I was calm, but at the same time I found the right energy to do well and realize the lines I had imagined in recognition”.
Valentina Roberto
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