Article #258134

Emanuel Perathoner and Cécile Hernandez keep their calm to win gold on an incident-packed day at San Zan

From their vantage point to the south of the San Zan course, the first sight spectators get of the snowboard cross are of figures punching through the horizon. Coming off the back of a left-hand turn, racers come into view as they make the first of a series of jumps in what is also, perversely, a part of the course where you can pick up speed. The moment is over in a split second, as athletes disappear once again behind safety fences. The impact on the gathered crowds is undeniable though: they can’t help but let out a roar.

Snowboard cross is a sport with high technical demands, as athletes negotiate a series of challenges from – to adopt the lexicon – jumps and berms to rollers and drops, all along a winding course. But all this skill is subordinated to the generation of speed. Every movement is calculated to limit resistance and drag. Add the challenges to balance and navigation that come from racing with a physical disability and it is perhaps not surprising to find that the snowboard cross finals at the Winter Paralympics on Sunday were carnage.