Skier Airlifted Off Ski Course After Crash; First Medals Awarded -- On the Scene

Treacherous Course Challenges Paralympic Alpine Skiers

Racing on much of the same course that Olympic skiers sped down one month ago, both men and women Paralympic downhillers were pushed to their limits on a morning that saw numerous crashes.

In the men’s sitting ski classification, nine of 21 racers failed to finish the bumpy, 2050-meter long course. Warm weather, resulting in soft snow conditions, magnified the difficulty.

Several big-name skiers including medal contender Tyler Walker of the United States, Franz Hanfstingl of Germany and Arly Velasquez of Mexico suffered nasty crashes.

Walker, 27, cartwheeled multiple times and was knocked unconscious. He was airlifted off the mountain, and is reportedly in stable condition with additional tests being undertaken.

"I think it’s a challenging course no question, there are some hazards out there, but I was aware of them," said Canadian Josh Dueck, who won a silver medal in the sit ski classification.

"I know a lot of the guys were at the start and they were scared, they saw the terrain, got reports of it and the more course delays there are really builds a sense of fear," Dueck said.

"There were a few guys that actually pulled out after seeing the terrain, and I think that was really smart," Dueck said, regarding the difficult course that skiers tested three times in training earlier this week.

Although tackling a shorter course with a much easier gate set than the Olympians, Paralympic skiers ripped down the steep final pitch, reaching speeds in excess of 120 kmh. In some sections of the course, racers in sit-skis caught air.

U.S. sit skier Alana Nichols, who won silver in her race despite a minor fall, finishing 0.14 seconds behind German winner Anna Schaffelhuber, said parts of the course are similar what the able-bodied Olympians skied.

"It’s funny because I made my mistake in the downhill at the same gate that Bode did," Nichols said, referring to the six-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller.

"It’s pretty telling that we are skiing the same downhill. We start lower, but we are experiencing a lot off the same terrain and airtime so I think it should be pretty eye-opening to the world now that we are getting some coverage."

Swiss sit skier Christoph Kunz also spoke of theintense demands of the course.

"It was fast and bumpy, and for me I don’t have the stability and I didn’t have the confidence to give all that I have," Kunz said.

"You know for sure, that when there is a break for 10-15 minutes, it’s a hard crash," added Kunz about dealing with delays at the start.

Austrian Claudia Loesch was another racer who crashed, ending up tangled in the safety netting.

"Fortunately, I’m alright; I didn’t break anything," Loesch said in the finish area after her crash. "I went into the jump, caught an edge and rolled over a few times and ended up into the nets and it took them sometime to get me out.

"I was like a fish in a fisherman’s net," Loesch joked. "I’m fine and I’m already looking forward to the next race."

Alpine Medal Winners

Earlier in the morning, Henrieta Farkasova of Slovakia became the first gold medalist of the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games winning the women’s downhill in the visually impaired classification. Farkasova said that she hopes to win five gold medals in five events in Sochi.

French star Marie Bochet won the women’s downhill standing classification and received her gold medal from IOC president Thomas Bach.

Medals were awarded to both men and woman in three classifications: visually impaired, standing and sitting skiing. Both Russia and the United States won three medals.

Auspicious Start for Russian Alpine Skiers

It was a strong start to the Paralympic Games for the hosts, as standing skiers Alexey Bugaev and Inga Medvedeva both won silver medals, while visually impaired competitor Aleksandra Frantceva took bronze with the assistance of her guide Pavel Zabotin.

All received thunderous cheers from the Russian fans.

"The atmosphere was fantastic and this win was a big surprise for me, I was shocked," said Bugaev, whose preferred disciplines giant slalom and slalom are still to come.

"The track is a little bit easier than at the Olympics, but the speeds here are fast and the strength we put in to race is very hard."

Bugaev will compete in all four alpine events remaining at the Games.

Homepage photo from Getty Images.

Written by Brian Pinelli in Sochi.