Paralympian Choi Sa-ra races through knee injury, fails to medal but has no regrets 작성일 03-11 18 목록 <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/11/0000085524_001_20260311150909433.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Choi Sara, right, competes alongside guide Eo Eun-mi in the women’s alpine combined vision impaired final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on March 9. [KOREA PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> MILAN — Racing with a knee injury, Choi Sa-ra of Hyundai Ezwel missed the podium in her third event on Monday at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, but she said she had no regrets. <br> <br> With her guide, Eo Eun-mi, Choi placed sixth with a combined time of 2:13.86 in the women's alpine combined vision impaired final at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Italy. <br><br>Visually impaired Paralympic skiers compete with a sighted guide, who skis ahead of the Paralympian and verbally guides them through the race through a Bluetooth communication system installed in their helmet. <br> <br> Austria’s Veronika Aigner won gold with a total time of 2 minutes and 1.75 seconds, and Italy’s Chiara Mazzel took silver with 2 minutes and 4.81 seconds. Bronze went to Austria’s Elina Stary with 2 minutes and 5.65 seconds, which was 8.21 seconds faster than Choi. <br> <br> After finishing fourth in the downhill and fifth in the super-G earlier in the Games, Choi had to postpone her hopes for a medal once again. She had previously competed at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games as the youngest member of the Korean delegation. <br> <br> For this year's Games, she had been regarded as a leading medal contender after winning seven medals on the 2025-26 FIS Para Alpine Ski World Cup circuit and rising to No. 3 in the World Cup standings. <br> <br> However, she injured her knee during training ahead of a World Cup race in Tignes, France, in February and devoted the next month entirely to rehabilitation before taking the Paralympic stage. <br> <br> The alpine combined standings are determined by adding together times from one speed event and one technical event, which at these Games were the super-G and slalom, respectively. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/11/0000085524_002_20260311150909514.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Choi Sara, top, competes alongside guide Eo Eun-mi in the women’s alpine combined vision impaired final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on March 9. [KOREA PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> Choi was fifth in the super-G with a time of 1:22.89. But in the slalom, she recorded 50.97 seconds, the seventh-fastest time among the nine skiers, and ended up sixth overall. <br> <br> Though this was her lowest placing so far, her expression after the race was anything but gloomy. <br> <br> “The super-G was better than the previous day’s super-G,” Choi said. “I followed the line in the way that I had planned and felt faster. In the slalom, I think I skied about as well as I had practiced, so I have no regrets.” <br> <br> “I was very worried about her knee, but she is handling it better than I expected,” Eo said. “She has not fully recovered, but [Choi] gave everything she had, so I have no regrets either. We have not had many strong results for technical events, but with a little more practice, her performance can improve plenty.” <br> <br> “I got treatment and rested, so [my knee] got better,” Choi said. <br> <br> “I was upset that I got injured a month before the Paralympics,” Choi continued. “But the Paralympics were my goal, so all I could think about was competing no matter what. I was in pain, but what upset me the most during rehab was not being able to ski. I think just being able to ski again after rehabilitation is something to be grateful for.” <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/11/0000085524_003_20260311150909676.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Choi Sara, left, competes alongside guide Eo Eun-mi in the women’s alpine combined vision impaired final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on March 9. [KOREA PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> Choi will get another chance to chase a medal in the giant slalom and slalom later this week. <br> <br> “I will race as hard as I can with Eo to have no regrets,” Choi said. <br> <br> “I will do my best from beside her to help [Choi] avoid any more serious injuries,” Eo said. “I will support her all the way.” <br> <br> In the men’s visually impaired alpine combined, Hwang Min-gyu of SK ecoplant crashed during the giant slalom, which served as the first run, and was unable to start the second-run slalom. Hwang, who looked to be in solid form and safely passed the first three checkpoints, lost his balance and slid out not far from the finish line. <br> <br> In the alpine combined, skiers who fail to finish the first run cannot compete in the second. Hwang complained of pain in his left knee and collarbone after the crash, but detailed medical tests found no serious abnormalities. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/11/0000085524_004_20260311150909799.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Choi Sara, right, competes alongside guide Eo Eun-mi in the women’s alpine combined vision impaired final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on March 9. [KOREA PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> “In the turn section late in the race, the inside edge of his right ski caught and shifted his weight to one side,” his guide Kim Jun-hyeong said. “As he made a slight jump, his left knee bent inward.” <br> <br> “The doctor said he can walk, so it does not seem like a major injury,” Kim added. “He told me that if I went to the mixed zone, I should let people know not to worry too much.” <br> <br> Hwang, who had expressed confidence in the slalom and giant slalom, was reportedly left disappointed ahead of his main events. <br> <br> "[Hwang] was so disappointed he cried,” Kim said. “He said his skis were running better than the day before, and it felt like the result was going to come out the way he had expected. The snow had melted a lot where he fell, and I think we should have paid more attention to that.” <br> <br> After failing to finish the downhill and placing eighth in the super-G earlier in the Games, Hwang will try to bounce back in the giant slalom and slalom later this week. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/11/0000085524_005_20260311150910047.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Hwang Min-gyu, right, comes down with guide Kim Jun-hyeong after a fall in the alpine combined alpine skiing event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on March 10. [NEWS1]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> <br><i>This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.</i> 관련자료 이전 "구글 고정밀지도 반출, 신속 대응해야"…업계도 "조급한 결정" 비판 03-11 다음 프로당구 '차세대 스타' 김영원-정수빈, 제주 향토기업와 후원계약 03-11 댓글 0 등록된 댓글이 없습니다. 로그인한 회원만 댓글 등록이 가능합니다.
