Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA - (11 December 2013) – New Zealand adaptive skier Adam Hall (Wanaka) is proving himself a force to be reckoned with, today claiming the gold medal in slalom at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) North America Cup races at Copper Mountain, Colorado.
The competition followed a standard two-run format with Adam taking the lead on his first run. Despite a highly technical course he was able to maintain the top position, posting a solid second run and winning by 0.56 seconds.
Today’s gold medal completes a full set for Adam who won a bronze and then a silver medal in the Super-G in the Nor-Am races earlier this week. Adam won the gold medal in men’s standing slalom at the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver and is hoping to repeat the experience at the 2014 Games in Sochi.
Speaking after the race, Adam described today as a “great benchmark to see where we are heading into Sochi.” With most of his main competitors present at today’s race, including skiers from Russia, Canada, Japan and the USA, Adam says that he is “extremely happy with my skiing and was pleased to see the hard work we have put into training is transferring into race day.”
Although Adam and his team believe “we are heading in the right direction” they definitely won’t be resting on their laurels. Even with three medals in the bag Adam knows there is “plenty more to work on.” He has one slalom race left to compete in tomorrow to complete the Copper Mountain Nor-Am series before looking ahead to his next competition at Winter Park, Colorado on 3 January.
Up and coming sit-skier Corey Peters (New Plymouth) has also been competing in the Copper Mountain Nor-Am and today achieved a ninth place finish on the technical slalom course.
“Slalom isn't my strongest discipline but with a strong world cup field it’s good to know where I sit amongst them.”
Corey only begun competing in the sport three years ago and knows that he has “plenty to continue to work on to progress.” He believes that the “key thing is to attack the course with more aggression to be in contention.” This sense of determination and a will to win paid dividends for Corey during the 2013 southern hemisphere season where he won five world cup medals.
Corey Peters will also compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi along with Adam Hall and para-snowboarder Carl Murphy (Wanaka).
Official results from the Copper Mountain Nor-Am will be available here: http://www.paralympic.org/alpine-skiing/calendar
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