LANDGRAAF, The Netherlands – Sandrine Hamel of St. Sauveur, Que., earned her first career medal on the Para snowboard World Cup circuit on Wednesday and Alex Massie of Barrie, Ont., also reached the podium.
In the women’s banked slalom, Lisa Bunschoten of the Netherlands won the gold medal in 46.68 seconds followed by the 21-year-old Hamel who clocked 47.75 and Renske van Beek of the Netherlands was third in 48.01.
Each of the riders executes two runs with the best time of the two counting as the final result.
‘’I feel relief and euphoria with this medal,’’ said Hamel, who posted two fifth place finishes at the Paralympic Games this past March in PyeongChang.
Hamel, born with a double major scoliosis, was standing fourth after her first run but was confident she could do much better on the second run.
‘’I wasn’t satisfied with my first run,’’ she said. ‘’In the second run I made sure I controlled my breathing and to look directly ahead. Being calm is what helped me to improve.’’
In the men’s event, Sun Qi of China was the winner in 40.21, Matti Suur-Hamari of Finland second in 41.50 and Massie collected a third medal this season with his 41.76 clocking on the second run.
John Leslie of Arnprior, Ont., was fifth in 42.45.
Competition ends Thursday.
(with files from Sportcom)
