Home »
Dueck, Marcoux second in super-G at Panorama
Josh Dueck and Mac Marcoux wrapped up the final day of racing Tuesday at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing World Cup at Panorama Mountain Village, each with second-place finishes in super-G, securing Canada’s third podium of the four-race series.
Dueck, a sit-skier from Kimberley, attacked the course looking for redemption following two DNFs (did not finish) in downhill and giant slalom earlier in the week. He did just that, claiming second place in a time of one minute, 16.29 seconds on a course that got the best of many experienced skiers.
“Today is definitely a silver lining in a bit of a slow week for me, for sure,” said Dueck, a silver medallist in slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Winter Games. “There have been a lot of factors in play this week and unfortunately some got into my head. But I can learn from that, and that was the goal today. Mentally I wanted to let things just pass through, and obviously it worked out. It wasn’t a great run, but it was a tough course for everybody, and so to finish second on the last day of the race series in Panorama is rad.”
Dueck shot to worldwide acclaim in 2012 when he became the first person to complete a backflip in a sit-ski, and since joining the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team in 2008 has earned seven other IPC World Cup podiums, multiple national titles and was the 2009 world downhill champion.
“Hopefully we can take this momentum from today and apply it to the tech series next week in Colorado and keep building,” Dueck said of upcoming World Cup races in the United States. “The confidence and momentum is building and it’s a really positive space to be in, so to be rewarded for it feels really good. Sometimes you forget how much you enjoy doing well until you have a few races in a row where you don’t and you get a little bit down on it. But today is great.
“I took fewer chances than maybe I would have liked to, but at the same time, I did what I needed to and carried my speed well.”
Japan’s Taiki Morii (1:15.75), and Akira Kano (1:16.35) were first and third, respectively. Terrace’s Caleb Brousseau finished in 11th (1:19.38), while Kurt Oatway, of Calgary, Alta., went out at the third-to-last gate and did not finish.
Marcoux, who was itching to climb the podium since Sunday following a fourth-place finish in super combined, was also second. The Sault Ste-Marie, Ont.-based athlete competes in the visually impaired category and is guided by his older brother, BJ. Marcoux’s result, combined with Dueck’s podium and another second-place finish by sit-skier Kimberly Joines in Monday’s giant slalom, gives Canada a total of three podium results at the Panorama event.
“This course was fun. It felt a little bit like a really fast giant slalom,” Mac said of his run of 1:16.53. “In the top section things went well, then mid-section it was a little bit sketchy because I got a little too far back on my skis, but I picked things up again in the bottom section.
“I’m super happy with this result. Yesterday’s giant slalom was pretty unsuccessful, but after today my confidence is really coming back,” he added of not finishing Monday’s giant slalom run. “Yesterday I was starting to doubt myself a little bit, but I went back to my room last night and watched a lot of super-G video, so I felt prepared coming into today’s race.”
Marcoux raced with the national team last season as a prospect athlete at just 15 years old and earned a silver medal at world championships, multiple IPC World Cup podiums, and two national titles. Now 16, he is a top medal prospect for the 2014 Sochi Paralympics, which the entire Canadian Para-Alpine Team has pre-qualified for. Once the team nomination process takes place, the Canadian Paralympic Team will be announced in February.
Mark Bathum, from the United States, won the men’s visually impaired category in 1:15:35, while Russia’s Miroslav Haraus was third (1:16.73).
It was a tougher day for Canadian athletes in the men’s and women’s standing categories, in which Alana Ramsay, of Calgary, finished eighth (1:30.00), Alexandra Starker, also from Calgary, was 10th (1:31.94), and Etobicoke, Ont.’s Erin Latimer did not finish. Coquitlam’s Matt Hallat finished 11th (1:19.15), Kirk Schornstein, of Spruce Grove, Alta., was 14th (1:20.18), and Duncan’s Braydon Luscombe did not finish.
Tuesday’s super-G concluded a successful races series in Panorama, which will also host the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships. It will be the first time Canada holds the world championships, and this week’s World Cup, where athletes had the chance to test-drive a brand-new downhill track that has been built for the 2015 international event, was a promising preview of what’s to come next year.
“A huge thanks to Alpine Canada and Panorama Mountain Village for putting together this race series. For sure it was a huge success,” said Dueck after Tuesday’s race. “It wasn’t an easy race series to pull off, because we had pretty much every weather system possible, so as always, a big thanks to all of the volunteers, the course workers, the people behind the scenes, and the IPC for helping coordinate a really successful event.
“The venue is great and everybody had a good time. This was a great experience, and I think it will carry over very well into world champs in 2015.”
“This was a fantastic success,” added Brad Serwa, chief of race. “We started this in 2012 and created a great race organizing committee full of people who are passionate about the sport and who love to be on course. The volunteers have a heart of gold and they’re the reason this event went well.
“We came here when it was 20 degrees below zero and the track was hard, then we had 25 centimetres of snow and warm weather, but by making some smart decisions and changing the schedule, we were able to get all the events off.”
Pete Bosinger, director of events for Alpine Canada, said volunteers, partners and supporters, and Panorama Mountain Village were key elements to the success of this week’s race series.
“This was a huge success and it wouldn’t have been possible without our partners at the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Canada, as well as Alpine Canada’s supporters and partners. Their support made it possible for our athletes to come out here and make us all proud. It was a fun event, and we look forward to bigger and better things at the 2015 world championships.”
The Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team will travel to Copper Mountain, USA, this week to compete in slalom and giant slalom IPC World Cup races from Jan. 17-20.
Alpine Canada Alpin