Yesterday the first silver arrived. The fifth place among the Standing for the rookie at the Games Federico Pelizzari is also convincing
Giacomo Bertagnolli rushes to gold in the super combined at the Beijing Paralympics. After yesterday’s silver in super-G, the twenty-three year old from Trentino followed the lines drawn by the guide Andrea Ravelli to perfection, thus winning his second medal on the snows of Yanqing, the sixth overall with the four already centered in 2018 in PyeongChang (paired with Fabrizio Casal): tomorrow in the Medal Plaza will play for the first time the Anthem of Mameli in these Games.
Born on the same day (January 18), “even if I a few years earlier”, explains Ravelli (born in 1992, ed), the two skiers of the Fiamme Gialle unlined a great slalom heat to climb from third place obtained at the end of the super-G and annihilated all rivals. A victory that moved Bertagnolli, blue flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony: «It was a medal that I really cared about because I missed it, I didn’t even think of making it and getting the gold today is something incredible. We really did two good heats ».
Ravelli echoes him: «I’m happy that Jack is enjoying this moment, because he deserves it. He was the reigning champion, he wore medals around his neck and taking off his weight was not easy so I understand his tears. I too feel very strong emotions, more than those I felt as an athlete ».
Also convincing the fifth place among the Standing (athletes who ski standing) for the rookie at the Games Federico Pelizzari, who in January had captured a splendid world bronze in Lillehammer. On the other hand, Davide Bendotti (Standing), René De Silvestro (Sitting) and Martina Vozza (Vision Impaired, led by Ylenia Sabidussi) went off the track.
However, it did not go well in Zhangjiakou for snowboard riders. In the cross, sixth place for Jacopo Luchini, eliminated in the semifinal and then second in the small final, while the other two Azzurri Riccardo Cardani and Mirko Moro had stopped in the quarter-finals in the same heat with the Tuscan athlete, fresh winner of the Cup of the world. All-Chinese podium in the big final, with the first step to Ji Lijia, the second to Wang Pengyao, the third to Zhu Yonggang. «Unfortunately it did not go as we expected – declares Luchini -. We prepared a lot, comparing ourselves over the last four years with athletes from all over the world and then we came here and found six really strong Chinese athletes in our category. It couldn’t get worse than that. In these days we have worked hard, preparing the race down to the smallest detail, I felt in good shape and thought I could reach the final ».
A lot of anger for the technical manager of the Italian snowboard, Igor Confortin: «It didn’t go well, indeed, I feel lucky, because starting with all three in the same run was not already. Then I hadn’t seen such an incorrect semi-final, not so much on Jacopo as on Barnes-Miller, who paid the price. Jacopo would have gone to the big final, but it wasn’t like that. In the small final, the Chinese again tried to knock out both the Englishman and Luchini, who had to settle for sixth place. We are not happy and this is also why we and Great Britain have used this. The regret is that all the best of the World Cup did not make it to the final ». The redemption opportunity is set for Saturday 12 March with the banked slalom.
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