PARALYMPIC ALPINE COMBINED TESTS TEAM USA’S SPEED AND PRECISION IN CORTINA

The Paralympic Alpine Combined tested skiers across two disciplines Tuesday at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, pairing a morning Super-G race with an afternoon slalom. Audrey Crowley led the American results with a fifth-place finish in the women’s standing classification.

Athletes opened the combined with a morning Super-G on the 500-meter drop of Olympia delle Tofane before returning several hours later for a tighter slalom on the same slope. The speed course featured 37 gates, while the afternoon run shifted to a more technical rhythm with more than 50 slalom gates.

Course crews salted the course throughout the day to reinforce the surface as warmer temperatures softened the snow. The treatment hardened the racing line and helped the track hold together through both the morning Super-G and the afternoon slalom, but it also created a dense, compact layer that several athletes said felt different from the snow they typically race on.

WOMEN’S VISION IMPAIRED

Megan Gustafson and guide Spenser Gustafson represented Team USA in the women’s vision-impaired combined, finishing seventh overall.

Gustafson opened the event seventh in the Super-G and maintained that position through the slalom to finish seventh overall.

Megan Gustafson of Team USA, guided by Spenser Gustafson, competes in the women’s vision impaired Alpine Combined slalom at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina. (PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Chin)

“I thought today was a good day,” Gustafson said. “It was my first official Alpine Combined, or Super Combined. Slalom felt really good.”

She said the shift between the two disciplines is part of what makes the event unique.

“That’s part of the discipline of Super Combined, is that you have to be able to do that transition from making these long glidey turns to making these quick, short arcs,” she said. “It’s a challenge, but it’s really fun when you can do it correctly.”

Austria’s Veronika Aigner claimed the gold medal, Italy’s Chiara Mazzel earned silver and Austria’s Elina Stary secured bronze.

WOMEN’S STANDING

Crowley recorded the top American result in the women’s standing race, finishing fifth overall after backing up her Super-G performance with a steady slalom run.

“I feel like I definitely came in with a bit of a different mindset,” Crowley said. “I was really just focusing on what I could do in my skiing rather than the result I wanted at the finish.”

Paralympics Men’s Women’s Alpine Combined (Super G / Slolam) in Visually Imparied, Standing, Sitting – Photos by Danny Chin | Wheelchair Sports Federation

She said the slalom course rewarded skiers willing to attack each section.

“It was super fun. I told the boys it was really rippable. You could kind of just put your face in it and do what you wanted with it and take whatever you could get at every section.”

Kelsey O’Driscoll opened the event with a strong Super-G run that placed her third before dropping to eighth overall after the slalom.

Allie Johnson maintained her position through the two-run format, finishing 13th overall after matching her Super-G standing in the afternoon slalom.

Gold went to Sweden’s Ebba Aarsjoe, while France’s Aurélie Richard earned silver and China’s Zhu Wenjing took bronze.

WOMEN’S SITTING

Anna Soens opened the women’s sitting combined fifth in the Super-G, just over three seconds off the podium, before falling during the slalom.

“I hate slalom,” Soens said with a laugh. “As sit skiers we can’t really cross-block the gates, so we’re just taking them to the chest and the face.”

Saylor O’Brien of Team USA races during the women’s sitting Alpine Combined Super-G at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina. (PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Chin)

Saylor O’Brien was seventh after the Super-G but also did not finish the slalom run.

“I didn’t make it very far, which is unfortunate,” O’Brien said. “Just struggling a bit with my body and some tightness. Not my day.”

Spain’s Audrey Pascual Seco captured gold, Germany’s Anna-Lena Forster earned silver and China’s Liu Sitong took bronze.

MEN’S STANDING

Spencer Wood led the American results in the men’s standing race, moving from 12th after the Super-G into the top 10 following the afternoon slalom.

“I wasn’t expecting to come down and have that big of a gap behind me and the person in 11th,” Wood said. “It’s my first top-10 at any Games, my third Games, so that’s a huge victory for me.”

Spencer Wood of Team USA skis through a gate during the men’s standing Alpine Combined slalom at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina. (PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Chin)

Patrick Halgren also completed both runs for Team USA and played to the crowd in the finish area after crossing the line.

Three American skiers did not finish the event. Tyler McKenzie, Jesse Keefe and Andrew Haraghey all recorded DNFs during the combined.

France’s Arthur Bauchet took gold, Canada’s Alexis Guimond earned silver and Switzerland’s Marco Pfiffner claimed bronze.

MEN’S SITTING

Robert Enigl completed both runs for Team USA and briefly held the provisional lead after his slalom run before later starters pushed him down to seventh overall.

“It was pretty fun,” Enigl said. “I didn’t ski as aggressive as I wanted to, but I’m happy to survive all the races.”

Robert Enigl of Team USA skis through a gate during the men’s sitting Alpine Combined slalom at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina. (PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Chin)

Ravi Drugan said the combined format highlights athletes who can adapt between the two disciplines in a short window.

“Combined is always a really cool event because it showcases people’s skills,” he said. “You run a Super-G in the morning and then switch to slalom skis and jump right back into it.”

Blake Eaton was 12th after the Super-G before falling during the slalom run.

Andrew Kurka did not finish the slalom after opening the race with a fifth-place Super-G run.

Norway’s Jesper Pedersen won gold, Japan’s Taiki Morii took silver and Switzerland’s Robin Cuche earned bronze.

With the combined complete, attention now turns to the men’s and women’s giant slalom and slalom events still to come at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre as athletes continue their pursuit of Paralympic medals in Cortina.