ALPINE:

Williamson 3rd as IPC alpine worlds kick off in Italy

Jan. 16, 2011 — Alpine Canada  

SESTRIERE, Italy — As the IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships kicked off Sunday with the downhill event in Sestriere, Italy, a third-place finish was a tough pill to swallow for Markham, Ontario-based athlete Chris Williamson and his guide Robin Fémy from Mont-Tremblant, Que.

The dynamic duo crossed the finish line in Sestriere with a time of 1 minute, 22.84 seconds.

"I definitely wanted the gold medal today, I always want the gold medal," said the 38-year-old athlete, who was on the podium for the eighth time in his career at World Championships. "It's actually the third time I finished third in the downhill event at World Championships, and this time it's a little hard to take.

"I do have to say that Robin and I skied well and we skied even better than in training yesterday, so it is definitely a step in the right direction for Tuesday's event. At this moment, I'm the reigning super-G champion, and I will be looking to defend my title in two days," added Williamson, who finished behind France's Nicholas Berejny and Yon Santacana from Spain.

Spruce Grove's Kirk Schornstein made his World Championships debut and finished in 12th place in the extremely competitive men's standing category. It was Schornstein's first downhill event at an international race level.

"Kirk skied well, the entire team is proud of him," said CPAST World Cup head coach Sven Pouliot. "As a young skier on the international scene, this is a very solid race for him. This shows how committed and focused he is. It shows great promise for the future in para-alpine skiing in Canada. I am confident he will be very successful."

The reigning downhill champion in the men's sitting category, Josh Dueck, was not able to defend his title  as he finished fifth with a time of 1:22.41.

"I think I skied well," said Vernon, B.C.-based Dueck. "I definitely made some big mistakes that cost me the podium, and I am still happy with the way I skied. Since the start of the season I haven't been able to shift to fifth gear, I need to do that."

In the women's standing category, Karolina Wisniewska, who now lives in Ottawa, Ont., finished in fifth place.  S-Magazine