The blind skiing record sees light at Ski Dubai
dubai — ski dubai, the largest indoor ski resort in the world, joined hands with international ski experts on sunday to beat not one, but two world records.
the title of the first record was a premiere for the guinness world records team: the greatest distance skied blind or blindfolded in one hour in an indoor snow centre. the other title, set for the record on sunday, was the greatest distance skied in an indoor ski centre in eight hours.
the initiative was aimed to raise awareness for blind and disabled athletes in the uae and across the globe, as well as encourage fitness for everybody. it coincides with dubai’s latest vision of transforming the city into disabled-friendly by 2020 under the theme #togetherlimitless.
for the first title, the team consisting of maximum of 12 skiers, had to cover a distance of over 18 kilometres in one hour blind or blindfolded in an indoor snow area. each race was carefully monitored by the guinness world record team, disqualifying participants who took their blindfolds off before the finish line. the 12 highly skilled members skied in a relay down the highest peak of the ski dubai slopes between 8am and 9am and every participant had individual guides so as to direct them safely down the track.
two blind athletes yves kilcher and jonas pauchard flew in from switzerland to compete in the competition. it was their first experience skiing in an indoor ski resort. “it was interesting to experience
It was a very different experience to ski inside when you have always skied outside in Switzerland. But it was interesting to experience skiing with music. Yves Kilcher, blind athlete
skiing with music. i am very happy to be part of this world record but i hope this will encourage skiing for everybody. i would like to see skiing for the blind and other disabilities on ski dubai’s website next time i come,” said yves.
“there are many different sounds and more support from the walls in the lift for instance… which is nice. i think the hardest thing was because of so many participants. it was probably harder for my guard to ensure my safety, but we did it and i am very proud of us,” jonas added.
at approximately 9.05am, it was announced by the guinness world records team that dubai broke a new world record, covering a skiing distance of 25.1km in one hour blind and blindfolded.
for the second world record title, the longest distance covered in eight hours was 302.3km while the target for beating the existing record was 50km. the feat was achieved around 6.15pm on sunday.
crystal@khalejtimes.com