Aline Rocha and Cristian Ribera are the best in Brazil to debut in the Winter Paralympics | winter paralympics

The Brazilian delegation reached an important milestone in its debut at the Beijing Paralympics. Early Sunday, six Brazilian representatives took part in Zhangjiakou, a city 180 kilometers from Beijing. Skier Aline Rocha had the second best result in the country’s history when she finished a lengthy cross-country ski event in seventh place.

The bans of Russia and Belarus had an impact on the outcome of the competition and China took advantage of the situation. There are four medals for the hosts in long-distance events.

– The Chinese don’t compete much, do they? And when they show up, they do the damage. It was to be expected, but I didn’t know the level would be that strong. It’s great to be competing among the best – comments Cristian Ribera, who finished the long-distance race in 14th place.

Little is known, the hosts stunned on an 18-kilometer pitch and narrowly missed securing three podiums. In the men’s event, Zheng Peng won gold, Mao Zhongwu won silver, and Collin Cameron of Canada was third..

China’s podium nears completion in cross-country skiing, but Canada secures bronze

Favorite in cross country ski sprint events, Cristian Ribera finished the long-distance race in 14th place, the best position in Brazil among men. Three other Brazilians finished the race: Guilherme Rocha takes 19th place, Robelson Lula finished 20th e Wesley Vinícius dos Santos finished in 23rd place.

– This course is very difficult. We’ve been practicing a lot, but when the time comes, fatigue speaks a little louder. We saw the opponent go by, we got a little nervous there, didn’t we? But, for sure, everyone is doing their best – says Guilherme Rocha.

Brazilian Guilherme Cruz Rocha finishes the long-distance race in 19th place — Photo: Ale Cabral/CPB

Cristian arrived in China as sixth place in the world rankings. In January this year, the Rondonian won a silver medal in the sprint event at the Paralympic Snow Sports World Cup, in Lillehammer, Norway. He is second only to Ivan Golubkov, a Russian athlete who will be dropped out of the competition due to an exception announced by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) the day before the opening ceremony.

– I did the best I could, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. We always want to be in the highest place, but I will practice more so that in the other races I can do better and I still have sprint competition – said Cristian.

Aline Rocha — Photo: Ale Cabral/CPB

In the women’s race, the route is the same, but with a lower mileage: 15 km. The country’s first woman to compete in the Winter Paralympics edition, Aline Rocha entered the competition with a chance to seek bronze, but was also taken aback by the Chinese. The Brazilian finished the course in seventh place, the second best result in Brazil’s history in the competition – Cristian Ribera was sixth at the 2018 Olympics.

– I’m so happy, it’s a great emotion to participate in the Paralympics for the second time. It was difficult, the climb was cruel, but very good. I hope to give my best in the middle distance race – said Aline Rocha.

A multicamp Oksana Masterswho was the favorite for the title, crossed the finish line shaking his head dissatisfied with silver. The highest place on the podium went to the unknown Hongqiong Yang, and his Chinese partner Li Panpan secured bronze.

Brazilian skiers will return to compete in the sprint race on Tuesday night (03/08), and in the middle distance in the early hours of Saturday (12/3).

+ Meet the Brazilians and when they will compete in the Winter Paralympics
+ Brazil competes in the Beijing Winter Paralympics with historic podium chances

Andre Barbieri makes his debut on a snowboard cross

He also made his debut in snowboarding. Gaucho André Barbieri participates in a cross-race, in which each athlete performs three descents on a track with different jumps and obstacles. The Brazilian, who competes in the LL1 class for athletes with disabilities in one or both legs, has a 13th best time (1min18s30) in her first descent and will play in the final on Monday morning.

– I did what I planned. I wanted to do it right, and I did. That’s fantastic. I’m the better of the two athletes. So, this is awesome. That’s what I expected and I’m happy to be in contention – André’s judgment.

Andre Barbieri’s Beijing debut — Photo: Ale Cabral/CPB

This is the largest delegation from Brazil in the history of the Winter Paralympics. In its third entry into the competition, the country doubled the number of competitors compared to the previous edition, in PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018.

Brazil’s best result at the Winter Paralympics came in 2018, over the Korean snow, with Cristian Ribera in sixth place. in the long race, which until then was 15km.

Brazil’s debut in the Winter Paralympics was in Sochi 2014, Russia. At that time, the country had only two representatives in the snow: snowboarder Andre Cintra and skier Fernando Aranha (cross-country).

Prior to their descent in China, a cross-country ski team from Brazil took three months of immersion in the winter of northern Europe and Italy, in training and competition. The Brazilian skier descended on China eight days ago and has been training at the competition site throughout the week.

To follow Brazil closely at the Winter Paralympics, just call sportv.

China's Hongqiong Yang Takes Gold Long-distance Cross-country Skiing

China’s Hongqiong Yang Takes Gold Long-distance Cross-country Skiing

China skyrocketed in the medal table after the first two days of the event. Now, there are 16 podiums, with six gold, four silver and six bronze, leaving Ukraine far behind, in second place with three gold, three silver and one bronze. The result can even be considered surprising, because before this year’s event China only had one medal in the history of the Winter Paralympics.

But the reality is that China usually hides Paralympic athletes throughout the cycle, which the country did at last year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Then the athlete’s first major competition ended up being the Paralympics, appearing “out of nowhere” unnoticed by his main opponent.

Alexandra Rexova from Slovakia takes gold in Super-G Alpine Skiing for the visually impaired

Alexandra Rexova from Slovakia takes gold in Super-G Alpine Skiing for the visually impaired

At the age of 16, Alexandra Rexova from Slovakia won a gold medal in the Alpine ski event in the super-g category for the visually impaired. She defeated the reigning Paralympic champion, compatriot Henrieta Farkasova. Rexova clocked 1m17s01 was 1s78 under the runner-up.

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