Ski-wi a sitter for medal
Corey Peters needs to find a split second somewhere between here and Pyeongchang to realise his Paralympic dream.
The 34-year-old sit-skier heads to the United States this month to hunt for a gold medal at the Winter Paralympics in South Korea next March.
He secured silver in the giant slalom at the Sochi Games four years ago, missing gold by 0.47s to Switzerland’s Christoph Kunz.
Peters got into the sport after suffering a crushed spinal cord in a September 2009 motocross accident which left him a paraplegic.
Auckland University’s wind tunnel has been employed to help him search for better aerodynamics with the help of High Performance Sport New Zealand.
“I’ve done plenty of research and development with my equipment to get more gain.
“In my previous season, I had multiple second places, so I went back to the drawing board to cut down those margins.
“There was 1.5 per cent less drag with the mock-ups we’ve done, and that can be a couple of seconds over a ski race. Cutting that down by half a second could make the difference.” New Zealand has named four competitors for the Games so far. They include Peters, fellow sit-skier Aaron Ewen, standing skier Adam Hall and snowboarder Carl Murphy.
Peters intends to compete in five events. He will focus on the downhill, giant slalom and super G because “speed events are more my cup of tea and give me an adrenaline rush”, but also intends to contest the slalom and super combined.
Peters has reasons to be confident of success. He won the downhill and super G at the 2015 world championships and took silver in the giant slalom, followed by silvers in downhill and super G this year.
Peters also delivered a silver in the super G at the Pyeongchang test event before crashing out of the downhill while in the lead, three gates from the finish.
“The course is not super steep or gnarly,” he said. “It’s quite undulating, which can bring the field closer together. I’m confident I’ve got some high speed there.”
Team-mate Hall is about to enter his 27th straight winter, culminating in a fourth Paralympics.
The 30-year-old was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth, but describes himself as “lucky” because he can walk.
Hall competes in the “standing” class for those with an impairment that affects both legs, such as an above knee amputation or significant muscle weakness.
“I know no different, compared to someone who has an accident and has to adapt to things. In my upbringing, I was treated like anyone else rather than any form of cotton-wool syndrome where parents can be overprotective.
“I was disciplined like any other kid, and had my work ethic and determination drilled into me by my parents.”
Hall revels in the freedom his alpine pursuit provides.
“Up a mountain, nobody knows you’ve got a disability. You’re just somebody out there skiing.
“There’s no better feeling than the adrenaline flying down a mountain at 100km/h plus, living on the edge, or in slalom when you get to be aggressive and hit the poles.”
Hall has been involved in the sport as a skier or a snowboarder since he was six.
Snowboarding only became a Paralympic sport at Sochi, so he pursued skiing 18 months from the Turin Games and went on to win gold in the slalom at Vancouver.
“When I started, most New Zealanders didn’t know when the Paralympics were or whether we had any athletes going.
“The Games have had more media coverage and exposure since. It is a more professional movement these days whereas, when I started out, para-athletes and athletes with disabilities were often classed as second-class citizens compared to our able-bodied peers.”
If Hall is the team’s veteran, 20-year-old Ewen is the rookie, having qualified in the slalom and giant slalom for the sit-ski.
He’s also hoping to contest the super G by qualifying enough points on the international circuit ahead of the Games.
Ewen admits he’s not on the same technical level as Peters . . . yet.
“I’ve done a bit of work with a mate who’s an aircraft engineer. He’s helping me with some stuff on the lathe and metalwork, which has been awesome to get a strong rig to take overseas.”
Ewen’s English parents emigrated from France, his country of birth, to Tuakau when he was eight.
A mountain bike crash and spinal cord injury stopped him walking in February 2013. His Paralympic selection comes with a twist.
“I remember being in hospital watching Corey on YouTube. Now I’m skiing with him, which is pretty cool. Hopefully I can do the same for someone else.”
In my previous season, I had multiple second places, so I went back to the drawing board to cut down those margins. Corey Peters