Vancouver 2010 Paralympics Day 7 at Para-Alpine

Comments 4 by Rebecca Bollwitt

This morning I woke up in Whistler Creekside and headed up to the Para-Alpine venue for Day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. The morning’s events included Para-Alpine downhill in the sitting, standing, and visually-impaired categories.

Para-Alpine Downhill

Para-Alpine Downhill Para-Alpine Downhill

Para-Alpine Downhill

As a photo of a hockey puck sitting in Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame got more face time than Lauren Woolstencroft on the front cover of the Globe and Mail today, as she raced her way to her third gold medal of the Games. With three prosthetic limbs, she won gold in the giant slalom (standing) yesterday with a remarkable 7 second lead over the next competitor.

Para-Alpine Downhill

Para-Alpine Downhill Para-Alpine Downhill

Para-Alpine Downhill Para-Alpine Downhill

Para-Alpine Downhill Para-Alpine Downhill

Para-Alpine Downhill

It was a great day for Canada on the slopes, even if it wasn’t on the ice as our men’s hockey team got bumped to the bronze medal round. Viviane Forest won gold in the downhill (visually impaired) while Josh Dueck placed fifth in downhill (sitting). Both Forest and Dueck each won silver medals earlier this week in the slalom.

Para-Alpine Downhill

The strength of these athletes is astounding, not only were they blazing down the mountain but they were doing it without use of either limbs or sight. The crowd in the grandstand blasted out several rounds of “O! Canada” while cowbells rung out in celebration. Japan, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, America and Canada were just a few of the nations I saw represented with flags, face-paint, jackets and cheers.

Para-Alpine Downhill

Over in the Callaghan Valley Brian McKeever also picked up his second gold today in 10-kilometre classic cross-country, giving him 9 Paralympic medals in his career. I was told that as McKeever and his guide skied down the final stretch, the announcer proclaimed to the enthusiastic crowd at Whistler Paralympic Park that they were witnessing the greatest cross-country skier of all time.


Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Canada currently has 4 gold medals, 3 silver and 3 bronze as we head into the last few days of the Paralympics. You may view a full schedule of upcoming events over on the official website and you still have a few more days to check out some of the pavilions and attractions around town.

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4 Comments  —  Comments Are Closed

  1. anita websterThursday, March 18th, 2010 — 6:29pm PDT

    Rebecca – I think it’s great that you are covering the Paralympics so well. These are truly amazing athletes facing challenges most of us can’t imagine. We were at sledge hockey last night and were so inspired. The mainstream media seem to have moved on, sadly. Your comment on a puck getting higher billing in the Globe than Lauren Woolstencroft is telling!

  2. ScottFriday, March 19th, 2010 — 8:47am PDT

    Great piece. As Anita said, it’s great to see Paralympic coverage despite what the main stream media is doing.

  3. 2010 Paralympic Winter Games: Ice Sledge Hockey | Tyler Ingram Dot ComSaturday, March 20th, 2010 — 4:29pm PDT

    […] I noticed that Rebecca obtained her accreditation due to an extended cut-off date which was March 10th. Since I had […]

  4. Carole RobertsonMonday, March 29th, 2010 — 11:10am PDT

    The Vancouver Sun ran Lauren Woolstencroft front page! Maybe a BC phenomenon. I attended the Paralympic Alpine Skiing held March 15 and saw Lauren and Katrina win their races, spectacular!
    All Paralympic 2010 events can still be viewed on ParalympicSport TV. I found their commentaries very good, WAY better than TACC TV cable 888 in Vancouver.

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