Kevin Burton skis with guide, David Chamberlain, on the Sochi Cross Country course.
Written By Brian Rank
SOCHI, Russia – On the last day of competition at the WInter Paralympics, team USA picked up a bronze finished with eight top-10 finishes in cross-country and alpine skiing. The Games concluded on Sunday with a stunning closing ceremony that featured member of the back-to-back champion sled hockey team Steve Cash as flag-bearer for team USA.
The USA earned 18 medals total at the end of the games comprised of 2 gold, 7 silver and 9 bronze.
Below are recaps from the day’s events.
Alpine Skiing
Team USA Finished strong in downhill with three top-ten finishes. Alana Nichols placed fourth in women’s giant slalom sitting class, followed by Laurie Stephens in sixth. In standing class, Allison Jones placed fourth followed by Melanie Schwartz in 14th. Stephanie Jallen was 5th in her first run, but did not finish the second.
In visually impaired class, Staci Mannella finished sixth.
Cross-Country
It was a good closing for the US nordic team with five top-10 finishes and a bronze.
Oksana Masters completed her stellar debut at the winter Paralympics with a bronze in the 5 km sitting class. Tatyana McFadden got 7th followed by Monica Bascio in 16th and Beth Requist in 19th.
Andrew Soule earned ninth in the men’s 10 km sitting class followed by Daniel Cnossen in 10th. Aaron Pike, Sean Halsted, Jeremy Wagner and Travis Dodson earned 14th, 16th, 22nd and 23rd respectively.
In the 10 km visually impaired, Jacob Adicoff earned 7th and Kevin Burton came in 15th. In the standing class, Omar Bermejo earned 29th and John Oman came in 32nd.
Wheelchair Sports Federation Media 