Kampschreur makes amends as Mazzel secures home gold in Paralympic Super-G

After crashing out of Saturday’s Downhill, Jeroen Kampschreur ended his eight-year wait for Paralympic gold in the Men’s Super-G Sitting on Cortina’s Olimpia delle Tofane.

The 26-year-old Dutchman was right on the edge during a thrilling run that saw him win by 0.72 from Downhill champion Jesper Pedersen (NOR). Andrew Kurka (USA) took bronze with home skier Renè De Silvestro fourth for the second time in Cortina, missing out of the podium by just over a tenth of a second.

“After the crash, we did everything to get my back healthy again because my neck and my back were quite sore,” admitted Kampschreur whose only previous gold came in the Combined at PyeongChang 2018. “I didn’t really hit it hard but my Sitski kind of came off on top of me so I was really stiff. I had two hours of physio, I even went to a sauna hotel to get everything as healthy as possible. I’m just so happy to be able to show what I can and not have to skip a day like this where I know I have the chance to win, and actually do it. It makes it maybe even more special.

“The crash didn’t really impact my mental state. I just tried to leave it behind and I think I managed quite well. Today at the start I was confident about my new plan and I saw the first three guys on the livestream and kind of adapted my plan a bit to make it even more perfect and it was really perfect. I talked to my coach and he said I couldn’t have done anything better. This was great.”

Chiara Mazzel delighted the home fans with Italy’s first Para Alpine gold of the Games in the Women’s Super-G Vision Impaired (VI) category.

After taking Downhill silver on Saturday behind Veronika Aigner (AUT; guide Lilly Sammer), Mazzel and guide Nicola Cotti Cottini went one better this time. First to go, the 29-year-old was fast all the way down and had to make a quick adjustment late on as she threatened to miss a gate. 

Aigner was smoother on the bottom section but did not carry as much speed as the Italian. Trailing by just six-hundredths of a second at the final time split, she ended up six-tenths behind. Defending champion Alexandra Rexova (SVK; Sophia Polak) was third for her second bronze of the Games. Elina Stary (AUT; Stefan Winter) was quick at the top of the test but fell after hitting a gate hard with her arm. Fortunately, she was able to ski unaided to the bottom.

Mazzel said taking “better decisions” was key to winning gold this time. “It’s very very special and emotional,” she added. “I have my family and my boyfriend here, and his family here over from Denmark, so it’s amazing.”

Aigner and Cuche complete speed doubles

Johannes Aigner (AUT; guide Nico Haberl) made it two golds out of two by winning the Men’s Super-G VI. It was far from his smoothest run, but the 20-year-old did just enough to take victory and improve on his bronze from four years ago.

Giacomo Bertagnolli (ITA; guide Andrea Ravelli) had the home crowd cheering as he made up time on Aigner after a sluggish start. He skied the bottom of the course superbly, but finished 0.16 down to add silver to his Downhill bronze. Kalle Ericsson (CAN; guide Sierra Smith) took bronze after his silver on Saturday.

“It was not the best because we had a little bit of a low line, and we’re a little bit too late in the turns,” admitted Aigner. “It was a good run but not perfect and we know Bertagnolli is a good skier. It was a long time to wait, but it’s not an easy course and I think we had a good run.”

Having previously failed to win a global Para Alpine title, Robin Cuche (SUI) now has two after backing up his Downhill Standing success with Super-G gold. It was another typically aggressive ski from the 27-year-old who made errors but still came out on top by almost a second.

Patrick Halgren (USA) took a surprise silver ahead of Jules Segers (FRA) with both men claiming first Paralympic medals. Downhill runner-up Arthur Bauchet (FRA) went out early in his run, going down on the inside ski entering Gran Curvone, while Alexis Guimond (CAN) had his second DNF at Cortina as several athletes struggled.

“You have to take risks in Super-G and sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Cuche. “I made a few mistakes as well but not big enough to miss a medal.

“I was kind of relaxed today at the start. Last night, I didn’t feel so much pressure like the Downhill. I knew for the Downhill I was the big favorite and I wanted to win it, but for the Super-G I knew it wouldn’t be easy to get a medal. I’ve only won one Super-G World Cup race before so I knew it would be difficult but in the end it was OK.”

A change of mindset helped Halgren put down a superb run for silver. “When I pushed out of the gate, I was thinking about unfortunate people that I know,” he revealed. “I’ve visited hospitals and I thought about how it’s not about medals, it’s not about me. And there’s so many people I can put this performance on and inspire them. And that’s who it’s about, it’s everybody else who supports me. I’m just this beautiful American vessel that combats hate and spreads love.”

Halgren also had his family watching to spur him on. “They’ve never really left the country,” he said. “They’ve never been to an international race. I think they’re a big reason why I won a silver medal at the Paralympics. I’m now going to see my mum and get a cappuccino in Italy at the most adorable bar.”

Maiden triumphs for Voronchikhina and Pascual Seco

Varvara Voronchikhina secured Russia’s first gold of the Games with a blistering run in the Women’s Super-G Standing. She was almost two seconds clear of the field with Aurélie Richard (FRA) taking silver. Downhill champion Ebba Årsjö (SWE) was just eight-hundredths further back as she swapped places on the podium with Voronchikhina.

“I was glad on Saturday but I wanted gold,” said 23-year-old Voronchikhina. “I didn’t have a good feeling on Downhill or good training and it was so hard for me. But Super-G is my favorite discipline and I’m so glad that I won gold.”

Having missed out on Downhill glory by just five-hundredths on Saturday, Audrey Pascual Seco (ESP) got her gold in the Women’s Super-G Sitting. The 21-year-old was more than six seconds clear of her rivals with Downhill champion Anna-Lena Forster missing a gate as she got her line wrong at Gran Curvone coming off a jump.

After skipping the Downhill, defending champion Momoka Muraoka (JPN) took silver despite skiing within herself as she recovers from a broken left shoulder. Sitong Liu (CHN) was third for her second bronze medal of the Games.

“It’s very, very special especially after I was so so close for the gold,” said Pascual. “I just wanted to go fast, go ahead and I made it. It wasn’t the perfect run - I made a lot of mistakes but I was really nervous at the top.

“I was really nervous waiting for Anna-Lena, but it’s a tricky slope with lots of jumps and she went out on one jump. It feels weird without her on the podium but I’m so happy.”

The athletes do not have long to recover from their exertions with the Combined taking place on Tuesday.