Yet more gold for Cooper

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 531, 12 April 1994, Page 5

Yet more gold for Cooper

Ohakune' s Paralympic star Patrick Cooper had to settle for two gold medals at the US National Championships last week. Patrick, fresh from the Lillehammer Paralympics in Norway where he wori two gold medals and a bronze, missed a gate on the first day of the championships (the super G) and failed to finish. On day two the New Zealand team scored a hat-trick, with Patrick and fellow team members Joanne Duffy and Matthew Butson, all winning gold medals. Patrick beat rival Patrick Reinhart of Switzerland by 8.3 seconds with a time of 1.07.72. In the giant slalom on Friday the world number one won / his second gold, bringing the team's total to 14. | In the final event, the slalom, on Saturday, Patrick found himself in the unusual positionof being overshadowed by some of the up-and-coming Kiwi skiers during the cham-

pionships. "It's always been all or nothing for me and sometimes this attitude counts against me," Patrick said shortly after finishing unplaced in the super G. Patrick' s intense, aggressi ve approach to skiing is more often than not a benefit, making him highly competiti ve in both disabled and able-bodied ski racing. The team returns to New Zealand next Monday, signalling for Patrick the start of his fourth back-to-back winter.