Saturday, March 18, 2006 8:46:40 PM
Vauchok and Kostiuk Dominate the Long Distance, Fourth Place for Masiello
Mar 18 2006
Enzo Masiello put his heart, head and lungs into the event, but couldn’t do anything against the power of the East. His dream of a medal in the 15km at Pragelato Plan lasted for nearly the whole event: forty-three minutes of suffering mixed with hope finished when Russian Sergej Shilov, third at the finish line, took the last place on the podium.
The Italian’s performance was a courageous one. Right from the start his constant rhythm had kept him in second place until the last circuit of the track, when the first signs of caving in appeared. Anyway, fourth place made the athlete from Matera very proud, who was satisfied with his performance at this international level: “I am really happy with what I have done today. My aim was to give my best and I am sure that I did”. This is how the bitterness of a missed medal was sweetened by Enzo, who had predicted his place from the start: “I knew that I would have finished at the foot of the podium,.
The bronze medal is and will stay a dream. But my staff and I know that this fourth place is worth as much as a victory”. Winner of the day was Ukrainian Iurii Kostiuk. He was finally able to beat the unstoppable winner of this Paralympic edition, Russian Tarsa Kryjanovski, who has already won a gold medal in both the cross country 5km and 10 km sitting. “I knew that I could aim for a medal in this last event – explained the Ukrainian – I had put all my hopes on the 15km because I prefer this speciality, but it was not easy for me to completely believe in winning it. Now I will enjoy my success”.
There was disappointment in the ladies’ event due to the withdrawal of Paralympic champion Francesca Porcellato, who was not in good condition: “Already at the end of the first circuit I felt that it wasn’t my day. But what influenced my performance the most was the lack of time necessary to compete at world level – explained the Italian”. In fact Porcellato discovered cross country skiing in 2004 and only the following year did she begin to train on the snow and participate in the qualifications for the Paralympic Winter Games.
In the fight for the medals there was a surprise victory for ByeloRussian Liudmila Vauchok, who finished 56 seconds in front of Ukrainian Olena Iurkovska. The Ukrainian has already won a good four gold medals in Pragelato and today was the star of an extraordinary come back in the last circuit which saw her beat Canadian Colette Bourgonje, who finished third. The favourite Ukrainian Lyudmila Pavlenko, who had been in better condition during the season, did not manage to get onto the podium. The Nordic skiing events finish on Sunday March 19 with the 20km and 15km standing and visually impaired categories.
Valentina Roberto
Mar 18 2006
Enzo Masiello put his heart, head and lungs into the event, but couldn’t do anything against the power of the East. His dream of a medal in the 15km at Pragelato Plan lasted for nearly the whole event: forty-three minutes of suffering mixed with hope finished when Russian Sergej Shilov, third at the finish line, took the last place on the podium.
The Italian’s performance was a courageous one. Right from the start his constant rhythm had kept him in second place until the last circuit of the track, when the first signs of caving in appeared. Anyway, fourth place made the athlete from Matera very proud, who was satisfied with his performance at this international level: “I am really happy with what I have done today. My aim was to give my best and I am sure that I did”. This is how the bitterness of a missed medal was sweetened by Enzo, who had predicted his place from the start: “I knew that I would have finished at the foot of the podium,.
The bronze medal is and will stay a dream. But my staff and I know that this fourth place is worth as much as a victory”. Winner of the day was Ukrainian Iurii Kostiuk. He was finally able to beat the unstoppable winner of this Paralympic edition, Russian Tarsa Kryjanovski, who has already won a gold medal in both the cross country 5km and 10 km sitting. “I knew that I could aim for a medal in this last event – explained the Ukrainian – I had put all my hopes on the 15km because I prefer this speciality, but it was not easy for me to completely believe in winning it. Now I will enjoy my success”.
There was disappointment in the ladies’ event due to the withdrawal of Paralympic champion Francesca Porcellato, who was not in good condition: “Already at the end of the first circuit I felt that it wasn’t my day. But what influenced my performance the most was the lack of time necessary to compete at world level – explained the Italian”. In fact Porcellato discovered cross country skiing in 2004 and only the following year did she begin to train on the snow and participate in the qualifications for the Paralympic Winter Games.
In the fight for the medals there was a surprise victory for ByeloRussian Liudmila Vauchok, who finished 56 seconds in front of Ukrainian Olena Iurkovska. The Ukrainian has already won a good four gold medals in Pragelato and today was the star of an extraordinary come back in the last circuit which saw her beat Canadian Colette Bourgonje, who finished third. The favourite Ukrainian Lyudmila Pavlenko, who had been in better condition during the season, did not manage to get onto the podium. The Nordic skiing events finish on Sunday March 19 with the 20km and 15km standing and visually impaired categories.
Valentina Roberto
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