Waimarino sportsperson returned

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 49, 26 May 1987, Page 7

Waimarino sportsperson returned

Patrick Cooper, an acclaimed young disabled skier from Ohakune, has recently returned from a three month ski training trip to Colorado USA. The trip was made possible by Patrick winning an AGC Young Achiever's Award. He left for America early on Boxing Day and experienced a 44 hour Christmas day, in New Zealand, Tahiti and Hawaii!. The following is part of Patrick's account of his trip: "The long bus trip from Los Angeles where we landed to Winter Park left me with some sleep to catch up on, which with the altitude at 9000 feet left me puffing for a week or so. I had two and a half months of solid training in slalom, giant slalom and downhill, all undoubtedly some of the best training in the world. The first of the three regional qualifiers was at Breckenridge Skifield. It was the first chance I had to race against the Americans to find out whether I had improved over the winter in New Zealand. I was pleased when I skied well, picking up a 1st in the slalom and a 2nd in the G.S, qualifying easily. The second race was back in Winter Park where I was beginning. to feel the benefits of the excellent training I was receiving. I had a good race winning both the slalom and the G.S. Powderhorn was the last regional before the disabled nationals on the

east coast. This was the first time the whole American team had participated. I did not ski quite so well as I had hoped but finished 3rd in both the G.S. and the downhill, unfortunately the slalom was cancelled. I felt really good about my training and

preparations for the nationals at Attitash Mountain, New Hampshire.

The downhill was first, but in the last training run I had a spill at about 80km/hr which upset my confidence for the race, so I was quite satisfied with a bronze medal. Looking forward to the slalom (my best event), I was happy to race but it soon turned to disappointment when I crashed on the first run and lost the opportunity to get an overall medal. I put everything into the G.S, the last of the championships. My first run was good, putting me in 2nd place and after the second run the best of my life, I posted the best time but the combined result was not quite good enough, leaving me with a silver medal. Contd. on page 16

Waimarino Sportsperson returns

Contd. from page 7 It was a fast trip home as money was getting short. On the whole it was a very satisfying trip with continued improvement in my skiing and understanding of it. My overall results were: Breckenridge 1st slalom, 2nd G.S; Winterpark 1st slalom, 1st G.S; Powderhorn 3rd G.S, 3rd downhill; US National Disabled Ski Championships 2nd G.S, 3rd downhill." Patrick's grant at'forded him travel and food expenses, return ticket and accommodation in Colorado. While there, he joined up with a 20 strong training team from Colorado with a goal of beating the number two ranked American. This he did and at the same time brought back eight medals and two trophies. Patrick has his sights set on the 1988 Disabled Olympics to be held in Innesbruck, Austria. For the rest of the year he will be aiming to -raise the $5000 plus needed for the trip. During the winter moriths he will be combining work and training. He plans to work 10 hours a day and spend three days of each week training. Patrick said he wants to leave for Austria in early November to get in as much practice on the

skifield as possible, but again his leaving will be dependent upon his finances. Until then he plans to concentrate on refining all three areas of competition, with special emphasis on high speed turns necessary for giant slalom and downhill racing. He will also be working on his balance. Patrick is hoping to travel to Cardrona for the three weeks in July/August when the Winterpark handicapped team will be training in New Zealand for their (northern) summer holiday programme.

He is also keen to compete on a par with able-bodied skiers in the New Zealand Nationals to be held at Whakapapa this season. Patrick said he will be skiing at least until 1990 when the World Championships will be held at Winterpark, Colorado. Although he enjoyed success when he competed in the last World Championships in 1984, ranking 7th in the world in his class, he has not yet won gold. Patrick said he will consider a coaching career when he finally gives up skiing. "When I reach the

point that at the end of a season I haven't improved, then 111 give it up," he said. He has been skiing for about 13 years and has skiied competitively for seven years. Patrick said he frequently out-skis his artificial leg and has needed modifications to it every year for the last 15 seasons. As he steadily improves in ability his leg requires regular changes to make it more flexible or stronger.