Debacle at the Paraski World Championships: Only two downhill runs this season!

Debacle at the Paraski World Championships: Only two downhill runs this season!

The Paraski World Championships in Marburg, Slovenia, show two sides: While the speed competitions there were canceled due to a lack of snow, the athletes in Sella Nevea had to contend with too much fresh snow, which also led to the cancellation of the competitions. The Carinthian Markus Salcher notes with regret that only a few downhill runs took place this season: “That's very bitter,” he says, since he and his colleagues were only able to take part in two downhill runs and five Super-G races in the winter season. So the balance sheet for Salcher and other athletes remains more than sobering. In the downhill ranking of the standing class he still takes second place behind the Swiss Robin Cuche, while Thomas Volgger also secures second place in the super-G ranking krone.at reported.

But hope dies last! From Tuesday, the title fights in Hafjell/Lillehammer (Norway) will enter the decisive phase. Salcher has won at least one medal at every Paraski World Championship since 2013 and is doing everything he can to continue this series. The 30-year-old from Carinthia has won nine medals so far and could add a tenth in Norway. “A medal is always the goal, as it was again this year,” explains Salcher and is optimistic, even though he and the other speed specialists had little opportunity to compare this year.

Off to the World Cup!

The upcoming World Cup in Norway is not only a sporting highlight, it also marks the end of a long wait for the athletes. The corona pandemic prevented the event from taking place last year. Salcher is already immersed in preparations for his first race of the season after training at Nassfeld. The schedule calls for the first of two downhill training sessions to take place on Tuesday. In addition to the speed disciplines, the focus is also on giant slalom and possible participation in the combination and in the parallel event. The sporting challenges are enormous, but Salcher remains calm: “It makes it exciting, of course, because no one knows exactly where you are, especially on the descent,” said the athlete markussalcher.at notes.