The Anna Schaffelhuber Festival in Pyeongchang continues: The “Golden Girl” of German disabled sports continued its incredible triumphal march at the Paralympics in Pyeongchang. The 25-year-old monoskier won gold in the downhill on Sunday and also won the Super-G in the seated class. In 2014 in Sochi she had already won five times and had become the star of the games.
Andrea Rothfuss (Mittelal) also won silver in the Super-G category in both the standing and downhill classes. In addition, flag bearer Andrea Eskau won the first medal for the Nordic athletes of the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) after the “zero lap” in the biathlon on Sunday: The 46-year-old from the ZSC Magdeburg finished second in cross-country skiing over 12 km.
But the focus was once again on Anna Schaffelhuber:”I still can’t believe it. I had to look twice at the finish line. That’s incredible,”she said after her second coup on the piste at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre. After her successes before the next three races “she is extremely deeply relaxed. I can now take full risk”.
After her downhill gold, the cross section paralyzed TSV Bayerbach racer was already much more relaxed in the Super-G, as she herself admitted. Accordingly, Schaffelhuber won 1:34.76 minutes in a commanding manner, ahead of the Austrian Claudia Lösch (0.95 seconds back) and the Japanese Mumoka Muraoka (1.34). Anna-Lena Forster (Radolfszell) finished fourth. The 22-year-old had crashed in the downhill run with an intermediate best time just before the finish line.
Rothfuss was again defeated by Marie Bochet from France. She was only 0.27 seconds behind Bochet (1:32.83) and “I am superhappy and didn’t expect it. That makes you want more,”she said after the Super-G.
After a rest day (Schaffelhuber:”I need it urgently”) the alpine skiers will continue on Tuesday with the super combination. Here too, Schaffelhuber and Rothfuss are among the favourites. Gerd Schönfelder, the most successful starter at the Winter Paralympics, spoke with a smile about “Anna Goldhuber and Andrea Silberfuss”.
In cross-country skiing, Eskau broke the spell with the Nordic countries. Second, she was 32.4 seconds behind the American Kendall Gretsch.”I am super happy. I had already doubted after Saturday. Now I have my medal and I can start the next races more easily,”said Eskau.”
For the six-time Paralympic champion Eskau, it was her tenth medal in her long and successful career. In addition, the paraplegic athlete, who also starts off with a handbike in summer, is 20 times world champion. A small question mark is still standing behind their mission on Tuesday in the biathlon over 10 km. Eskau complained on Sunday about slight pain in his arm.
In the biathlon on Saturday there was no medal for the Germans in five races. Eskau had to settle for sixth place over 6 km. Best DBS starter was Alexander Ehler (Kirchzarten) in the standing class over 7.5 km as fifth.