Para Alpine Skiing

Since the end of the Second World War, various solutions have been developed to enable physically disabled war veterans to practice Alpine skiing. Since then, the sport has seen steady growth.

Athletes compete in 5 specialities and in 3 categories according to type of disability: Standing; Sitting, inside the shell or monoski; Visually impaired (visually impaired and blind, who compete by following an athlete connected by radio).

The main equipment used includes balance skis, sit-skis and monoskis. The monoski - a shell fixed with a shock absorber to one or two skis and used in combination with two equipped with mini-skis to enable the athlete to balance - was a revolutionary innovation. A time correction system allows athletes with different disabilities to compete against each other.

THE RACE

There are 30 medal events in Para Alpine Skiing. The medal table for Para Alpine Skiing nations is led by the USA, followed by Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France. In Pyeonchang, visually impaired Italian Giacomo Bertagnolli achieved a historic feat by winning two golds (slalom and giant slalom), one silver (super G) and one bronze (downhill).