Paralympics – Day Nine

Day Nine was an extremely busy day with Gold Medal Events taking place both in Whistler and in Vancouver. Susannah went up to Whistler to the Paralympic Park and saw the Women’s Relay 3×2.5 km and the Men’s Relay 1×4 km + 2×5 km. In these events each team member skis one leg. Teams are made up of skiers from different categories but with the total percentage for each team being equal. There is no time calculation needed and so the first team across the finish line wins.

Here are the Women’s Medallists.

Lord Sebastian Coe, Chairman of LOCOG, presented the Women’s medals and then stopped for a shot with the Mounties.

And then the Men were off….can you imagine sitting on a metal chair and using only your arms to push uphill? Incredible!

Here’s a visually impaired relay athlete following his guide.

Here’s Russia, celebrating just after winning the race.

And a Chinese athlete, totally spent at the finish.

The Medallists.

Next it was off to Whistler Creekside for some Alpine Events. This was the final day of competition at Creekside so Volunteers (known affectionally as “Smurfs”) were having a bit of a party.

Kids were getting into the spirit of the Games by building mini Inuksuit.

Here’s some of the Alpine action.

This is French athlete, Solene Jambaque, completing her event and realising she has just won silver in the Women’s Super Combined – Standing Competition.

Here’s the medal ceremony for that event. This is a huge moment for Canada as golden girl Lauren Woolstencroft became the first Canadian winter athlete to win five golds in a single Paralympic Winter Games. Way to go Lauren! Vancouver’s own Karolina Wisniewska picked up bronze.

One presenter that day was Paralympic and Olympic medal co-designer Corrine Hunt (on the right). Check out her site for more info on her work and the medals themselves. They are truly unique.

Gerd Schoenfelder, of Germany won gold in the Men’s Super Combined – Standing Competition. Not only did he celebrate his fourth gold of the Games, he also celebrated the birth of his second child born during the Super-G race that day.

Back in Vancouver, I went to the Gold Medal Game for Ice Sledge Hockey between USA and Japan. Always the supporter of the underdog, I found myself cheering on the Japanese. Japan were ranked as fourth in the competition and had never finished higher than fifth so medal placement was very sweet, no matter what the colour.

Here are a couple of shots from the Game. The intensity of expression and action in the players is amazing.

It was an awesome game to watch. USA won 2-0 and while both teams fought hard on the ice, their mutual respect showed through with the hugs and handshakes at the end.

Here’s emotion filled Japanese Captain Takayuki Endo after receiving his silver medal. Later he said through an interpreter that he thought that the Japanese media coverage of the final was a turning point (NHK had beamed the game back to Japan). He said that the players always played with the mindset that it was not just sledge hockey but to promote all sports for people with disabilities.

And here’s the USA team celebrating their well-deserved victory.

One of the most popular sporting events is the Wheelchair Curling. For those at home in NZ – you wouldn’t believe how much Canadians love their curling. The Vancouver Paralympic Centre was packed with cheering fans watching the Canada v Korea Gold Medal Game and the Sweden v USA Bronze Medal Game.

Canada did not disappoint and took the Gold medal 8-7. Final results: Canada – Gold, Korea – Silver and Sweden – Bronze. Here’s the triumphant Canadian team.

What an awesome day!