PANORAMA, BC, March 4, 2015 /CNW/
- Mac Marcoux of Sault Ste Marie, ON, guided by his brother BJ
Marcoux, shaved a whopping four seconds off their Downhill
(visually impaired) training run time to claim Canada's first gold at the 2015 IPC World
Championship in Panorama, B.C.
This is the first time the Marcoux brothers have won on the
World Championship and World Cup stage in their three years of
racing together. Marcoux had incredible speed and technique,
claiming first place in a time of 1:29.68. Mark Bathum from the U.S. was +2.21 seconds off
the pace of Marcoux, finishing in second and Miroslav Haraus of
Slovakia finished third
(1:32.89).
"It's been a good day," expressed Mac
Marcoux. "Experiencing this with BJ is awesome. Today is the
first win above the Nor-Am level with BJ and it's the World
Championships! The Downhill is now complete and such a great result
has lifted a little weight off our shoulders, building our
confidence leading into tomorrow's race."
Canada's 17-year-old
Mac Marcoux has continued build upon
his dream season. The Sochi 2014 Paralympic three-time medalist has
landed on the podium a total of eight times thus far during the
2014-15 season – first place (five times), second place (once) and
third place (twice), resulting in securing the coveted Crystal
Globe and title: Overall World Cup athlete.
In a tribute to the race organizing committee (ROC), the
athletes praised the fantastic and well prepared track conditions.
The snow was hard and fast and there was great light, a perfect
combination which some athletes claimed to be the best Downhill
track they've ever skied on.
Five other skiers represented Canada on Wednesday. In the men's Downhill
(Standing) Kirk Schornstein of
Spruce Grove, AB finished seventh
(1:34.31) and Braydon Luscombe of
Duncan, BC finished ninth
(1:34.94).
Kurt Oatway of Calgary, AB was gaining speed as he entered
the second interval (in seventh place) and caught an edge,
however with some 'cat-like' reflexes, he was able to recover and
finished tenth in the men's Downhill (Sitting).
Erin Latimer, of Toronto ON and
Alana Ramsay, Calgary AB of both raced in the women's
Downhill (Standing). Latimer finished sixth (1:46.14) and Ramsay
finished seventh with a time of 1:50.82.
The 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championship will continue
Thursday, March 5 at Panorama
Mountain Resort with the Super-G starting at 11:00 a.m. All races will be streamed live on
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/skiing.
The 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships Live streaming
schedule can be found at http://www.cbc.ca/sports/skiing.
High resolution video highlights are available daily to media at
no cost at www.sendtonews.com.
Visit alpinecanada.org for full coverage and complete results of
our para-alpine athletes and make sure to follow Canada's skiers on Twitter at @Alpine_Canada
ABOUT ALPINE CANADA
ALPIN
Alpine Canada Alpin is the national governing body for alpine,
para-alpine and ski cross racing in Canada. With the support of valued corporate
partners and donor's along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium and the Canadian
Olympic Committee, Alpine Canada
develops Olympic, Paralympic, world championship and World Cup
medalists to stimulate visibility, inspiration and growth in the
ski community. To learn more, please visit
alpinecanada.org
SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC)