News

Williamson and Woolstencroft to lead 2010 Paralympic ski team

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 14:21

CALGARY, AB (March 9th , 2010) - Christopher Williamson (Markham, ON) and Lauren Woolstencroft (North Vancouver, BC), both multiple Paralympic Winter Games medalists, lead a list of 16 ski racers intently focused on contributing to Canada's medal totals during the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA) announced today.

Williamson, a three-time medalist including gold in slalom in 2002, will be guided by Nick Brush (Panorama, BC) at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Whistler, BC. Williamson and Brush have been together for most of the last three seasons but will be competing together at the Paralympics for the first time.

"It is great to be nominated on the Canadian Paralympic team for the third time. Hopefully I'll have a lot more success this time then the last two, because I was injured. But I will be taking the next two weeks and a half with a very positive state of mind," said Williamson, who suffered freak injuries while training prior to the Paralympic Games in both 2002 and 2006.

"My objectives for these Games are to medal in all five events that I will participate in. I have way too much respect to my competitors to say that I could win gold in every event but when I am in the start gate, I think that is always the main goal." said Williamson, who won the overall Crystal Globe in the men's visually impaired category this season after winning eight IPC World Cup events this season.

Woolstencroft has an impressive five career Paralympic medals including three gold. Her last gold medal came in giant slalom at the 2006 Games in Turin, ITA.

Kimberly Joines (Rossland, BC), a 2006 bronze medalist in the super-G, was also named to the Canadian team today along with Jeff Dickson, a three-time Paralympic medalist dating all the way back to 1992. Karolina Wisniewska (Vancouver, BC) came out of retirement in 2007 to compete in the 2010 Paralympic Games. Wisniewska, who has six career Paralympic medals, became the first Canadian alpine skiing athlete in either Paralympic or Olympic Winter Games competition to win four medals when she accomplished the feat at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.

"I'm really excited. I worked really hard to get here. These will be my third Paralympic Games, I didn't race in Torino but I decided to come back for 2010. So I'm really excited that I made it this far and things are going pretty well. I feel like I am exactly where I have to be right now," said Wisniewska. "Having the Games on home soil will definitely make it different, but I think it will be a good different and I am ready to embrace it as much as possible."

There are a total of seven skiers with Paralympic Winter Games experience. Of the nine racers who will be at their first Paralympic Winter Games, Viviane Forest (Edmonton, AB) along with her guide Lindsay Debou (Whistler, BC) is an overall IPC World Cup champion in 2009 and 2010. The list of first-time Paralympians also includes 2009 IPC World downhill champion Josh Dueck (Vernon, BC) while seventeen-year-old Kirk Shornstein (Edmonton, AB), a member of the national development team, is the youngest team member.

"Canada's Para-alpine ski racers are at the end of the most successful Paralympic cycle in their history and were atop the Nation's Cup standings for the first time ever last season," said CPAST, High Performance Director Jean-François Rapatel. 

"Our goal all along has been to create a para-alpine program that is capable of sustaining success in the long-tern and the 2010 Paralympics have always been considered as a major opportunity to measure our progress," added Rapatel. "We have a well prepared team, a talented group of Canadian and international coaches and staff, as well as athletes who have a track record of success in World Cup and World Championship competition."

Canada has achieved 36 medals at the Paralympic Winter Games in the Alpine events. Of those 36 medals, current team members account for a total of 18.

It is expected that Canada will have representation in each alpine event during the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010.

The downhill training runs start Wednesday March 10th and the first race will be on Saturday March 13th with the downhill event.

List of 16 alpine athletes nominated to the Canadian Paralympic Committee;

MEN - RESIDENCE (CATEGORIE) / HOMMES - RÉSIDENCE (CATÉGORIE)
Christopher Williamson, Markham ON, B 3
Josh Dueck, Vernon BC, LW 11
Matthew Hallat, Whistler BC, LW 2
Morgan Perrin, Whistler BC, LW 3/2
Nicholas Brush, Panorama BC, Guide
Jeff Dickson, Sudbury, ON, LW 9-2
Kirk Shornstein, Edmonton, AB, LW 6/8-2
Sam Danniels, Whistler, BC, LW 10/1

LADIES - RESIDENCE (CATEGORIE) / DAMES - RÉSIDENCES (CATÉGORIE)
Andrea Dziewior, Nanaimo BC, LW 2
Arly Fogarty, Montreal QC, LW 5/7-2
Karolina Wisniewska, Vancouver BC, LW 3/2
Kimberly Joines Rossland, BC, LW 11
Lauren Woolstencroft, North Vancouver BC, LW 3/1
Lindsay Debou, Whistler, BC, Guide
Melanie Schwartz, Toronto, ON, LW 2
Viviane Forest, Edmonton AB, B 2

ABOUT ALPINE CANADA ALPIN
Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA) is the governing body for alpine ski racing in Canada with more than 50,000 athletes, coaches, officials and volunteer members and over 200,000 supporting members. ACA manages the high performance programs for the athletes of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team and the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team who represent Canada throughout the world. For more information on Alpine Canada Alpin, visit www.canski.org.

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