SOCHI, Russia, March 10, 2014 /CNW/ - It was a frustrating day for three Canadian women making their Paralympic debut in super-G at the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games, as they battled nerves and tough course conditions at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre in front of a packed stadium.
Alexandra Starker, of Calgary, Alta. was the top-placing Canadian with a seventh-place finish in the standing category. The 19-year-old's time of one minute, 36.52 seconds was more than 12 seconds off the pace set by gold medallist Marie Bochet of France, who finished in 1:24.20.
"I was really, really pumped up in the start and was raring to go. I came down and there was definitely a spot where it was getting pretty soft and I thought I was going to go out," Starker said of the sun-softened snow, which has faced day temperatures of above-zero since before competition began. "I pulled it back together and finished my run.
"The opportunity to run a full-length super-G course before Tuesday's super combined is great. Now I feel really prepared and ready to rip that super-combined."
Teammate Alana Ramsay, 19, from Calgary, Alta., struggled in her run and finished 10th out of 10 finishers (1:43.39). Etibocoke, Ont.'s Erin Latimer was charging when she went off course and did not finish.
"I thought the beginning section went pretty well, the 17-year-old said. "I came out aggressively, and then coming over the first pitch it came at me a lot differently than I thought from inspection and I took a bad line. I just got so much speed coming over the next pitch that I couldn't control it.
"It's good to start, though, and get my nerves out for my next race. Hopefully it will go a lot better."
Solene Jambaque, from France, took silver (1:26.20 ) in the women's standing category, and the United States' Stephanie Jallen claimed bronze (1:30.14).
Next up is men's and women's super combined on Tuesday, which will feature one super-G run and one slalom run.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Media are invited to visit photos.paralympic.ca and create an account to be able to download high-resolution photos of Canadian Paralympic athletes at any time, at no cost.
For full information about Team Canada at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games, please visit paralympic.ca/team-canada.
SOURCE: Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC)
Kelsey Verboom
Media attaché, para-alpine
SOCHI cell: 011-7-938-454-3196
[email protected]
Alison Korn
Press Chief and para-snowboard media attaché
SOCHI Cell: 011-7-938-454-3162
[email protected]
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