March 15, 2010 (Whistler) – Lauren Woolstencroft (North Vancouver) captured gold in the women’s slalom, standing division and teammate Karolina Wisniewska won bronze as Canada captured its first double podium finish of the Paralympic Winter Games.
Woolstencroft had the best time in both runs, finishing with a combined time of 1:51.97, owning a lead of 6.38 seconds. Wisniewska completed the competition in 1:58.84, just 0.49 seconds behind silver medalist Andrea Rothfuss of Germany. Woolstencroft drew on experience after her first run found her in the lead.
"I've had some experience being in that position, so you know, I kind of looked back on that,” she explained. “It was nice to have a couple of delays and get used to seeing the crowd. It's crazy. I have so much family here. It's nice to win on home soil. On my first run, I was pretty focused and I didn't see the crowd. On my second run, I could hear it [the crowd] from the start gate. I just wanted to get to the finish line.”
The victory is the fourth Paralympic gold medal for Woolstencroft and sixth medal in total. With her bronze medal performance, Wisniewska owns a total of seven Paralympic medals, dating back to 1998.
The women’s slalom marked the first double-podium finish for Canada at these Paralympic Winter Games. Through three days of competition, Canada stands third in overall medal count with six (two gold, three silver, one bronze).
PARALYMPIC MEDIA HISTORY FOR LAUREN WOOLSTENCROFT
Year Sport Event Medal
2002 Alpine Skiing Women's Giant Slalom LW3,4,9 Bronze
2002 Alpine Skiing Women's Slalom LW3,4,9 Gold
2002 Alpine Skiing Women's Super-G LW3,4,6/8,9 Gold
2006 Alpine Skiing Women's Giant Slalom standing Gold
2006 Alpine Skiing Women's Super-G standing Silver
2010 Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom standing Gold
PARALYMPIC MEDIA HISTORY FOR KAROLINA WISNIEWSKA
Year Sport Event Medal
1998 Alpine Skiing Women's Giant Slalom LW3,4,5/7,6/8 Silver
1998 Alpine Skiing Women's Super-G LW3,4,5/7,6/8 Silver
2002 Alpine Skiing Women's Downhill LW3,4,6/8,9 Bronze
2002 Alpine Skiing Women's Super-G LW3,4,6/8,9 Bronze
2002 Alpine Skiing Women's Giant Slalom LW3,4,9 Silver
2002 Alpine Skiing Women's Slalom LW3,4,9 Silver
2010 Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom standing Bronze
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Who: - Lauren Woolstencroft and Karolina Wisniewska, Paralympic gold and bronze medalists respectively from Para-Alpine will be available to the media.
How: - Accredited media only (photo opportunity) - Whistler Medals Plaza, Whistler at 19:00 PT.
- All media - Canada Paralympic House (Whistler Public Library) immediately following medal ceremony.
About the Canadian Paralympic Committee
The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is a non-profit, private organisation with 43 member sports organisations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The CPC is responsible for creating an optimal high-performance environment for the Canadian Paralympic athletes to win at Paralympic and ParaPanAmerican Games. By supporting Canadian Paralympic athletes and promoting their success, the CPC inspires all Canadians with a physical disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organisations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca.
Follow the Canadian Paralympic Committee by becoming a fan on Facebook, and following on Twitter.
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For further information please contact:
Michael Cvitkovic
Press Chief
Canadian Paralympic Committee
mcvitkovic@tenniscanada.com
(604) 388-8420 or (416) 618-1266
Sophie Pilon
Media Attache, Para-Alpine
Public Relations and Media
Alpine Canada Alpin
spilon@canski.org
(403) 815-7340
