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Canadian Para-Alpine team wins IPC Nations Cup

Strong showing in Whistler gives team first ever championship
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Downhill Dominator Josh Dueck won the men’s sitting downhill last week, helping to put Canada over the top in the overall points race. Photo By Justa Jeskova www.coastphoto.com

The Paralympics are still a year away, but the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team is well on its way to winning medals in every discipline and classification.

Last week Whistler hosted the IPC World Cup finals, with Canadians winning enough medals and IPC points to win the Nations Cup title for the first time in the program's history.

"It's been a great season for us, our best ever, and it was extra-special to come back home, to the 2010 venue, and earn the points that put us over the top," said Sophie Pilon, administrative and public relations coordinator for the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team.

"I can't speak for any of the athletes, but the pressure is always on when you're competing at home, or competing on the Paralympic venue, and our athletes stepped up to the challenge. Most of the athletes I talk to are very comfortable with the hill and they're looking forward to the Games."

Going into the Whistler events, Canada was just seven points behind Austria for the Nations Cup title. A strong performance at home put Canada in first place with 5,685 points, followed by Austria with 5,063 and the U.S. with 4,651.

In the opening downhill event, standing skier Lauren Woolstencroft and visually impaired skier Viviane Forest (with guide Lindsay Debou), each placed first in their category, winning the overall World Cup titles in the process. Josh Dueck, proving his gold medal at the world championships in downhill wasn't a fluke, also won a gold medal.

Other solid contenders missed the podium, with world champion sitting skier Kimberly Joines, standing skier Morgan Perrin, and visually impaired skier Chris Williamson going off course.

There were also some nice surprises. Sam Daniels, who got his start with the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program, was fourth in the sitting category, while Whistler's Matt Hallat placed seventh in the tough standing downhill category.

Three Canadians were in the top-10 in the women's standing downhill race, with Karolina Wisniewska fifth, Whistler's Arly Fogarty sixth and Andrea Dziewior eighth.

For Woolstencroft, who has probably won more medals than any active Paralympic athlete, it's a challenge to stay on top of the sport.

"There is good competition in my category, overall there are good girls out there and they are pushing me every day so that always keeps me on my toes," she said. "The race was rougher and bumpier than yesterday, but it was faster than I felt good."

The course was extremely fast, even by able-bodied standards. Competitors were getting air off rollers as sit skiers broke the 110 km/h mark, and standing skiers were over 130 km/h in some sections.

In the super combined and super G, Woolstencroft picked up two more gold medals, while Vivian Forest and guide Lindsey Debout won the silver medal in both events.

Kimberly Joines stayed on course this time to win the women's super G and pick up the overall super G crystal globe to go with her downhill championship.

She crashed in the finish, injuring her ribs, and was unable to race the slalom component of the super combined, or any of the other remaining events.

"It's amazing for anyone to win a race when they cross the finish line on their back without a ski," she said. "Luckily I lost my ski between the last gate and the finish line so my time counted and it ended up being the fastest one. It definitely made the trip to the hospital better when I heard the news just after getting x-rays. I'm done for the season, but at least I went out in style," she said.

In the men's sitting, Josh Dueck placed fifth in both the super G and the super combined. It was a career-best for the Vancouver skier in both events, and a pleasant surprise as he's always been better at speed events than technical races.

Chris Williamson and Morgan Perrin could not start in their categories because of injuries in the downhill, and Matt Hallat, Sam Daniels, James Binsfeld and Karolina Wisniewska did not finish the race.

Arly Fogarty and Andrea Dziewior were ninth and 10 th respectively in the women's standing category.

The team was decimated for the giant slalom, but another gold medal performance by Lauren Woolstencroft and a gold medal from Viviane Forest and Lindsay Debou inched the team within seven points of a Nations Cup title.

In men's sitting, Luke Donovan placed sixth in his World Cup debut, while Josh Dueck was 21 st .

In women's standing, Arly Fogarty, Karolina Wisniewska and Andrea Dziewior were sixth, seventh and 11 th respectively.

There was a lot riding on the final day, and the Canadians stepped up again. Lauren Woolstencroft added a fifth gold medal to her collection, giving her four crystal globes, in downhill, super G, giant slalom and slalom, as well as the overall title.

Josh Dueck placed eighth in men's sitting, with Luke Donovan 15 th .

Karolina Wisniewski and Arly Fogarty were fifth and 11 th , and Matt Hallat was 11 th in the men's standing category.

The World Cup finals were also a Paralympic test event. Organizers are going to look at the course setup, and issues like injuries, to determine whether any changes should be made for 2010. The Para-Alpine team will take part in a one-week training camp on the Olympic venues before heading to the Canadian championships.