Warm Conditions, Slushy Snow Cause Mayhem At Paralympics Skiing Events

Conditions at the Sochi Winter Paralympics "have caused havoc with more than half of the skiers who raced in the Super-G event on the second day of competition," according to Stathi Paxinos of THE AGE. The courses at Rosa Khutor "have been heavily criticised" at both the Olympics and Paralympics but "for being soft and slushy." Skiers "were pleased with the conditions" during the downhill race on Saturday, but warm conditions overnight again "caused problems." On Sunday, 31 of 70 starters either crashed or missed a gate over the three classifications of vision-impaired (five from 14 starters), standing (12 from 28) and sitting (14 from 28). It is the sit-ski racers -- competitors who do not have lower body usage -- "who have been struggling the most." They "can reach speeds of 120kmh" in speed races such as downhill and Super-G and the soft snow "has been making control difficult, with some involved in shocking crashes" (THE AGE, 3/10).