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‘Full Gas And Send It’: Aussies Enter Day 2 With Clear Minds

'Full Gas And Send It': Aussies Enter Day 2 With Clear Minds
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Sam Tait, Patrick Jensen and Mitchell Gourley finished their first races at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics with different emotions, but each is equally committed to starting afresh when the Super-G Para-alpine skiing events take centre stage at Yanqing National Alpine Centre on Sunday.

Meanwhile, at Genting Snow Park at Zhangjiakou, Para-snowboard star Ben Tudhope will kick off his campaign with the Snowboard Cross qualification.

At Yanqing, Jensen and guide Amelia Hodgson were buzzing after throttling down the 2267 metre hill in the Men’s Downhill Vision Impaired in quick time on Saturday. Gourley was happy with his intent more so than his execution in the Men’s Standing. The third of Australia’s representatives, Tait, will have to bounce back from a miscalculation that led to a fall in the Men’s Sitting category.

“I’ve done it before,” Tait declared. “It’s kind of what we’re trained for. We all mentally prepare for days like today. I’m just going to put it down as a learning curve and think about how good I can ski and just bring that into tomorrow.”

Tait said the Super-G was one of his favourite events where he could “go full gas and send it”.

“It’s still a speed event, it’s still an event I really love. There’s not really much I need to talk to the coaches about. It’s still the same plan, inspecting the course, having a really good visualisation of where I can attack or where I need to hold off, and just going out and starting with a clear head. I’ll just get out there and ski like I know I can.”

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Like Tait, Jensen loves the thrill of the high speed events. However, he explained, there are some technical differences between the two disciplines.

“Basically, it’s taking the Downhill and tightening it up by 10 metres or 20 metres each gate, bringing in the line more across the hill,” he said. “It’s a more technical speed race, but you approach it with similar ideas.”

Jensen will be wearing skis that are three to five centimetres shorter than those he wore for the Downhill, with a tighter radius on the skis enabling him to swerve more easily.

“Our coach just came in and said, ‘Hey, are you ready for Super-G? And I just said, ‘I guess’,” he said of his preparations for his second race of the Games.

“I’m going to try and get some rest and then prepare myself for it. But really, we’re just going to try and go as fast as we can again and see what happens.”

Jensen and Tait will be joined in competition on Sunday by Gourley, who finished 20th in the
Men’s Downhill Standing on Saturday and is looking forward to the Super-G.

“We get one look at the track and then we get to go and, you know, historically that’s been kind to me and hopefully the experience factor plays in well,” the four-time Paralympian said.

“I back myself to read the course well from the inspection and take that into one-run-and-done.”

Watch the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games live and free on 7plus from 4-13 March.

By David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 5 March 2022