Canada News Wire
BEIJING, March 5, 2022
– Para-alpine skiers Mollie Jepsen (gold) and mac-marcoux (money) leads the way
– Marc Arendz adds bronze in parabiathlon sprint
– Wheelchair curlers start 2-0; Para ice hockey team drops first game
BEIJING, March 5, 2022 /CNW/ – Canada won a medal of each color after the first day of competition at the beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. Mollie Jepsen won not only the country’s first medal, but also its first gold medal, with the best time in the women’s standing downhill. Para-alpine skier friends mac-marcoux and guide Tristan Rodgers stood on the second step of the podium, while the Para-Nordic Marc Arendz took bronze.
MEDALS WON ON MARCH 5
GOLD – Mollie JepsenPara-Alpine Skiing, Women’s Downhill
MONEY – mac-marcoux (with guide Tristan Rodgers), para-alpine skiing, downhill for men with visual impairment
BRONZE- Marc ArendzPara-Nordic Skiing (Biathlon), Men’s Standing Sprint
GRAND TOTAL OF MEDALS
Gold: 1
Silver: 1
Bronze: 1
Overall: 3
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
Para-alpine skiing
For the second consecutive Games, Mollie Jepsen claims from Canada first medal – but this time she turned her bronze from 2018 in the downhill into gold. With a time of 1:21.75, Jepsen posted the highest standing female standing to add a fifth Paralympic medal to her career in just her second Games. The 22-year-old has now finished on the podium in each of her 10 international races this season.
“I think until December 2021 I really had no idea how I was skiing and how I was going to compare to the rest of the girls,” Jepsen said. “I had faith in the team and the way we had dealt with Covid and we were training, but until a few months ago I really had no idea. Once I found out in December, I’ve really been able to build my confidence so far and it’s really amazing that I know my best ski is capable of getting on the podium, I don’t think it’s really established yet, but I’ve grown a lot in the last four years and getting on the podium in the first race seems amazing to me.”
In the same event, first-time Paralympian Michaela Gosselin finished fifth and Alana Ramsay was seventh.
In his first race of the 2021-22 season after recovering from injury, mac-marcoux with guide Tristan Rodgers won silver in the men’s visually impaired event with a time of 1:13.81. This is Marcoux’s third consecutive Paralympic medal in the downhill, having won gold in 2018 and bronze in 2014. These are the first Paralympic Games he has competed in with Rodgers.
“Just being here and starting a real race was all we could ask for after the last two years,” Marcoux said. “And to be able to come down and be able to land one and execute everything that we had planned, and land on the podium is just overwhelming. It’s super exciting, it’s probably the one of the most rewarding races I’ve ever had.”
Also competing in the visually impaired male category, Logan Leaching and guide Julien Small were ninth in their Paralympic debut.
In the deepest field of the slopes, Alexis Guimond finished fifth in the standing men’s standings, one position below his result in PyeongChang.
The women’s sit ski race saw Katie Combaluzier not finished, while Brian Rowland was disqualified in the men’s sitting event for missing a gate. It was the first Paralympic appearance for both athletes.
Para-Nordic Skiing
On a windy day at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Center, Marc Arendz capture from Canada first Para-Nordic skiing medal of the Games, a bronze medal in the men’s standing biathlon sprint with a time of 17:13.6. He missed two out of 10 shots on his shots, which kept him from reaching the top spots on the podium, but good skiing kept him in third place. Arendz continues his momentum since PyeongChang 2018, where he finished on the podium in all six events he entered. At her fourth Paralympic Winter Games, Arendz now has nine career medals.
“It feels good to have the first under the belt,” Arendz said. “There are always a bit of nerves, everything seems to be there, it’s just putting that first performance aside. And this one left me feeling a bit hungry. I was really happy with the skiing, the skiing was amazing, but I just had mistakes on the range.”
In the women’s standing biathlon sprint, Emily Young got the seventh place, Brittany Hudak was right behind in eighth, and Nathalie Wilkie finished 15th in the six kilometer race.
Seated category saw Christine Picton finish seventh in the women’s event on her Paralympic debut, while in the men’s race Colin Cameron was seventh and Derek Zalpotinsky 14th.
para ice hockey
Canada didn’t get the start he was hoping for in para ice hockey, losing his first preliminary game of the tournament 5-0 to the No. 1 Americans. With a power-play goal less than six minutes into the match, United States took control early and kept the pressure on with 26 total shots for from Canada new.
“It was a great atmosphere to come back to the rink today, the guys were really excited to play United States“said the head coach Ken Babey. “I think most of the time we had a good first half, you can’t give up a late goal and then we’re down two. We just never responded to come back after that. Third half at the less, we fought hard and played the Canadian way in terms of spirit and never giving up, but giving up timely goals against late and early periods really hurts.”
The Canadians will now have a few days off before looking to regroup against South Korea.
“It’s our first game, and we have a lot of guys for whom it was their first big game at the Paralympics,” said the assistant captain. Liam Hickey. “I think we need to take the positives out of that, apply them to the next game here. Our main focus hasn’t been taken away from us yet, we’re looking forward to the opportunity to go after that.”
Wheelchair curling
from Canada the wheelchair curlers are off to a perfect 2-0 start after the first day of competition, including a big 7-3 victory China to open his tournament. Trailing 2-1 to the defending Paralympic and world champions after three ends, Canada scored three in the fourth to take a lead he wouldn’t give up. Later, Canada returned to the ice to face Switzerlandpicking up a solid 8-4 victory.
“We feel pretty happy overall,” said the skip. Marc Ideson. “The second game was a bit more difficult for us. We were facing difficult rocks and trying to figure out the ice. I think patience was on our side, so we were able to wait for our opportunities and managed to hold on. blow. and get a second win.”
FULL RESULTS
CLICK HERE for the complete March 5 Canadian Paralympic Team results.
MEDIA RESOURCES: resources to cover beijing The 2022 Canadian Paralympic Team, including athlete biographies, flash quotes, photos and highlight video packages, are available at Paralympic.ca/beijing-2022-media.
To follow @CDNParalympics for the latest news
About the Canadian Paralympic Team: A total of 48 athletes will compete for Canada in five sports beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, March 4-13.
About the Canadian Paralympic Committee: paralympic.ca
MEDIA CONTACTS
[LINK] LIST OF MEDIA CONTACTS BY SPORT
For interview requests with athletes during the beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter, please contact the specific sports press officer.
SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (Sponsors)