Eriksson and Smith capture two silver medals in weekend Para alpine skiing World Cup races

(Photo: FIS)

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland – Kalle Eriksson and Sierra Smith left no doubt they are on target to to shine at their first Paralympic Winter Games in March with a double silver medal performance this past weekend to conclude the third stop on the Para alpine World Cup circuit.

The visually impaired Eriksson and his guide Smtih placed second in the men’s VI giant slalom on Saturday and took another silver Sunday in the slalom.

The Canadians came close to gold in the GS. Eriksson and Smith posted the fastest time on the first run but Giacomo Bertagnolli and his guide from Italy were slightly faster on the second to edge the Canadians by a mere 0.30 seconds.

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“Really stoked with second place, even though it always stings a bit to go from leading after the first run to finishing second after the second,” said Eriksson, from Kimberley, B.C. “That’s ski racing though, and it just fuels the motivation for the next GS.”

Eriksson says the GS is going to be a prime event for the pair going into the Milano Cortina Games.

“We’ve been feeling strong in GS the last two seasons and it’s great to see that hard work paying off,’’ he said.

Johannes Aigner and his guide from Austria won the VI slalom clocking a two-run time of one minute and 39.10 seconds with Eriksson and Smith second in 1:41.26.

The competition concludes a strong opening trio of World Cups for the Canadians to open the season totalling 13 medals (two gold, nine silver and two bronze).

Eriksson and Smith collected four medals over the stretch as did Paralympians Alexis Guimond of Gatineau, Que., ( which included two Super G gold at the season opener in Steinach, Austria) and Mollie Jepsen of West Vancouver. Mikaela Gosselin of Collingwood, Ont., added a downhill bronze last week in Santa Caterina, Italy.

 ‘’The team has put in a huge amount of work over the past month, and we’re all looking forward to a well-earned reset, some time with family, and coming into the new year strong and ready to perform at our best,’’ added Eriksson.

The World Cup season resumes January 12-17 in Saalbach, Austria. The Paralympic Winter Games are March 6-15 at Milano Cortina, Italy.