LILLEHAMMER, Norway – Alpine skier Alexis Guimond of Gatineau, Que. was the top Canadian Wednesday with a fifth-place finish in the men’s standing giant slalom at the World Para Snow Sports Championships.
Aleksei Bugaev of the Russian Paralympic Committee won the gold medal with a two-run total time of two minutes and 15.04 seconds. Arthur Bauchet of France was second in 2:15.18 and Theo Gmuer of Switzerland was third in 2:17.85.
Guimond, third in the event at the 2018 Paralympic Games, was tied for fourth after the first run and was the sixth fastest on the second go-round, for fifth overall at 2:18.62. Last Friday, Guimond was fourth in the downhill.
The 22-year-old was pleased with his first run.
‘’I skied well and my approach was good,” he told Sportcom. ‘’I wasn’t aggressive enough though. I showed more intensity at the top of the second run, but it wasn’t enough. The performance is below my expectations and is a big disappointment.”
The other Canadian in action was Brian Rowland (Merrickville, Ont.), who was 12th in the men’s sitting giant slalom.
Alpine skiing resumes Thursday with the women’s giant slalom.
Canada has eight medals so far at the world championships with four silver and four bronze. Canada’s Para snowboarders are back in action later this week after winning four medals on Friday.
These worlds also feature Para nordic skiing (cross country and biathlon) but the Canadian Para nordic team has decided to skip the event and pursue their training at home.
For more information, please visit the event’s official website at Paralympic.org/lillehammer-2021.
Live streaming of the competition is available via the International Paralympic Committee’s YouTube channel.
