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Friends and family cheer as Lauren Woolstencroft of Canada races to her gold medal win during the 2nd run of the women's giant slalom standing event in Whistler on Wednesday. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)
March 19, 2010
Woolstencroft adds fourth ski gold medal at Paralympics
Posted by Rob Klovance
If Woolstencroft were a country, it would be sitting fourth in the gold medal standings at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
Luckily for us, skier Lauren Woolstencroft is a Canadian – and a BC Hydro engineer to boot. In winning her fourth gold medal of the Games on Friday – another dominating effort, this time in the super G event – the 28-year-old North Vancouver resident has bolstered her standing as one of Canada's greatest ever Paralympians.
She also remains one of the most modest sports stars you'll ever encounter. Following her downhill victory Thursday, she told a Canwest reporter that she didn't celebrate following her obviously winning run – by a margin of 4.4 seconds – out of respect for others who had yet to ski.
“I’m not a really showy person,” said Woolstencroft. “I’m excited. Perhaps I should show it more. Sometimes I look as if I’m in control when I’m skiing, but I’m really on the edge. I’m really that way in the finish area, too. It’s awesome. But I don’t think it’s set in yet.”
Perhaps today, she'll start to get a clearer sense of what she has accomplished. She won Friday's super-G standing event in a time of one minute, 26.46 seconds, 5.46 seconds over silver medallist Melania Corradini of Italy. Germany's Andrea Rothfuss won bronze.
Woolstencroft, who earlier won golds in slalom, downhill and giant slalom, tries for her fifth gold medal of the Games in her final race Saturday, the super-combined. Heading into Saturday's race, she has nine career Paralympic medals, including gold and silver at the 2006 Games in Turin and gold and bronze at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Her fourth gold of 2010 brought Canada's medal count to 14, including seven gold. That's good for fourth place in the medal standings behind Russia, Germany and the Ukraine.
Downhill runnerup Solene Jambaque of France helped put Woolstencroft's exploits in perspective on Thursday.
“Woolstencroft did a perfect descent, flawless," Jambaque told a Canwest reporter. "We’re trying to be realistic. She can win five gold. We have to be content with silver and bronze.
"On one hand, she’s got the advantage of skiing in Whistler, on her home turf. On the other, she has all this pressure on her. But I guess, when you’re among friends, it gives you wings.”
See the Vancouver Sun's 2010 Winter Games site for an excellent all-Lauren slideshow of photos from these Games.
Rob Klovance is managing editor of bchydro.com.
