After hosting a slalom World Cup race for years (the Snow Queen Trophy, remember?), Zagreb’s Sljeme will host the world’s best-disadvantaged skiers for the first time on January 8 and 9, 2018.
On January 3 and 4, 2018, the Red Slope at Zagreb’s Sljeme will host the best male and female slalom skiers for the World Cup race. And now, just a few days later on January 8 and 9, 2018, Sljeme will host a two-night slalom of the World Cup for people with disabilities, reports Gol.hr on December 29, 2017.
“This is a great thing for Zagreb, for the Croatian Paralympic Committee and for Croatian skiing,” said Dino Sokolović.
Sokolović, the best Croatian skier with disabilities, won the first and third place in the sitting slalom over the weekend in Austria, which is a great invitation for skiers on the eve of the upcoming Sljeme competition.
“I was a little surprised by the excellent results in Austria. I did not expect to place on the podium. I’m happy because I reached the level of skiing I had before I was seriously injured. I’m still not in top shape, but I believe I’m going to be in excellent form at the upcoming Paralympic Games in Korea’s Pyongyang,” Sokolović said.
Dino added that the Sljeme slalom will be extremely difficult and that participants will ski on the track where the best skiers in the world would have skied just days earlier.
“The track will be extremely demanding, hard and tough, and that’s how I like it the most. It will be just as long as it was for the Snow Queen and only the best will finish,” added the best Croatian para-skier.
Behind Dino is a severe back injury that has kept him in bed for four months – the skier has only recently begun with full training.
“Behind Dino are two unlucky seasons, but now he is coming back. After Sljeme, the next appearance is in Kranjska Gora, and the highlight of the season will be Paralympic Games,” added his coach Luka Dobrinić.
Race Director Anja Škutelj announced that Sljeme would feature 80 skiers from 17 countries from four continents.
“It is a great honor and pleasure that the best para-alpine skiers of the world will perform in Zagreb. We are fortunate that the races will be held a few days after the Snow Queen and the contestants will have the perfect conditions. I believe that we will pose a serious challenge for other race organizers in the World Cup competition,” said Anja Škutelj.
The Red Slope will host the slalom on two evenings. For both days, the first run is scheduled at 14.00 and the second race at 17.15.
“The track will not be easy, and it will be the same length as the Snow Queen,” added Škutelj.
Croatian Paralympic Committee (HPO) President Ratko Kovačić stressed that Croatia and Zagreb would host such a significant ski event for people with disabilities for the first time.
“After the European Cup, we got the World Cup as proof of our quality work. I believe that viewers will come to Sljeme to see the appearance of the best skiers with disabilities,” Kovačić said.
He stressed that Croatian athletes with disabilities, within the program activities of the HPO, performed at 82 international competitions where they won 355 medals in 2017, of which 131 are gold, 125 silver and 99 bronze.
“Behind us is a great year during which we have won a record number of medals, and I hope that 2018 will be even better,” concluded the president of the HPO.
Translated from Gol.hr
