IT WASN’T PRETTY or perfect but Irish skier Cormac Comerford survived a tough Olympic challenge in the slalom event in Bormio today and is sitting in 35th (out of 95) after his first run.
He, unlike 51 of his fellow competitors, completed the course and thus earned the right for a second go this afternoon.
Wearing bib number 58, the Dubliner left the gate with a surprising opportunity to secure a top 30 position but a mistake just before the halfway point slowed his run completely.
After missing a gate, he had to turn his skis around and go uphill to ensure he could finish with a time.
The effort contributed to the 11.73-second time differential between him and the current leader, Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath.
The event, already tagged as one of the most wide open of the entire Games in terms of how the podium will look, is now even less predictable.
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Five of the top 15 ranked athletes failed to navigate the 72 gates successfully. Among them was the giant slalom gold medallist, Brazil’s Lucas Braathen Pinheiro.
Of the 95 starters, there are only 44 who will take on the second run.
There was no consensus among race watchers in Bormio whether the weather conditions were affecting the competitors.
Some believed the snow falling as the event continued was hampering visibility for the athletes, while others put it down to tough gate positions, skiers pushing for great times on tired legs and Olympic pressure.
Comerford himself was happy with the “manageable slope” and the conditions.
“The visibility is a bit tricky but the lights on the slope help a huge amount to get a bit of extra contrast. To be fair to the organisers, they’ve done a really good job of keeping the track in good condition.
“The Olympics has always been an extremely difficult race.”
“There are just a few – one or two – quite technical turns and challenging sets there, and it caught a lot of people out, and it caught me out as well,” he told reporters afterwards.
With so many top contenders falling foul of that ‘diagonal verticali’ section, the 29-year-old was frustrated he fell foul of it too, especially given he was the 58th starter.
“I should have picked up and maybe put a little bit more attention into nailing that section. But yeah, no point dwelling – there’s another run to go and we’ll give it another good effort.”
And picking up on some positives, he added: “Generally the attitude was good and after the mistake I gave it welly so hopefully I made up a little bit of time.”
The current top 30 men ski first, from 12.30pm Irish time, with 31 to 44 following straight after. The times of the two runs are combined for final placings.
At the start of the season, Comerford’s aim was to compete in all four disciplines of alpine skiing at the Olympics and finish in the top 30 in slalom.
One of those goals is now complete. The second is within his reach.
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Irish skier survives absolute carnage at Olympic slalom event
IT WASN’T PRETTY or perfect but Irish skier Cormac Comerford survived a tough Olympic challenge in the slalom event in Bormio today and is sitting in 35th (out of 95) after his first run.
He, unlike 51 of his fellow competitors, completed the course and thus earned the right for a second go this afternoon.
Wearing bib number 58, the Dubliner left the gate with a surprising opportunity to secure a top 30 position but a mistake just before the halfway point slowed his run completely.
After missing a gate, he had to turn his skis around and go uphill to ensure he could finish with a time.
The effort contributed to the 11.73-second time differential between him and the current leader, Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath.
The event, already tagged as one of the most wide open of the entire Games in terms of how the podium will look, is now even less predictable.
Five of the top 15 ranked athletes failed to navigate the 72 gates successfully. Among them was the giant slalom gold medallist, Brazil’s Lucas Braathen Pinheiro.
Of the 95 starters, there are only 44 who will take on the second run.
There was no consensus among race watchers in Bormio whether the weather conditions were affecting the competitors.
Some believed the snow falling as the event continued was hampering visibility for the athletes, while others put it down to tough gate positions, skiers pushing for great times on tired legs and Olympic pressure.
Comerford himself was happy with the “manageable slope” and the conditions.
“The visibility is a bit tricky but the lights on the slope help a huge amount to get a bit of extra contrast. To be fair to the organisers, they’ve done a really good job of keeping the track in good condition.
“The Olympics has always been an extremely difficult race.”
“There are just a few – one or two – quite technical turns and challenging sets there, and it caught a lot of people out, and it caught me out as well,” he told reporters afterwards.
With so many top contenders falling foul of that ‘diagonal verticali’ section, the 29-year-old was frustrated he fell foul of it too, especially given he was the 58th starter.
“I should have picked up and maybe put a little bit more attention into nailing that section. But yeah, no point dwelling – there’s another run to go and we’ll give it another good effort.”
And picking up on some positives, he added: “Generally the attitude was good and after the mistake I gave it welly so hopefully I made up a little bit of time.”
The current top 30 men ski first, from 12.30pm Irish time, with 31 to 44 following straight after. The times of the two runs are combined for final placings.
At the start of the season, Comerford’s aim was to compete in all four disciplines of alpine skiing at the Olympics and finish in the top 30 in slalom.
One of those goals is now complete. The second is within his reach.
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Alpine Skiing Bormio cormac comerford Ireland slalom Winter Olympics