Lillehammer still leads well. Splendid World silver for Menardi

After De Silvestro’s medals in skiing, a large number yesterday from Ampezzano. In the last two runs he climbs from 11th to 2nd place and finishes 53 ” from Frei’s gold

LILLEHAMMER. Lillehammer is still a land of conquest for the Italian Paralympic sport and, in particular, for the Belluno one.

After René De Silvestro’s bronze and gold at the Alpine Ski World Championships, yesterday the Norwegian town gave the silver medal to Ampezzo Flavio Menardi.

A historic medal for the blue of the Bob Club Cortina who climbed the second step of the podium of the Parabob World Championships. A race in crescendo already from the first two runs on Saturday that saw him first finish in eleventh position and then go back to fifth thanks to the best time in the heats.

Yesterday, however, the secret was consistency and signing the third set twice (56.16 and 56.78) in the two scheduled descents: which allowed him to recover three positions to place himself on the second step of the podium in 3: 46.66, 53 cents away from the new world champion, the Swiss Jonas Frei (3: 46.13). The podium was completed by another red-cross athlete, Christopher Stewart (68 cents from his compatriot).

«I am very satisfied with my result, especially considering that after yesterday’s first heat I was eleventh. Slowly I managed to get back up and, position after position, I reached second place “, comments Flavio, born in 2000, forced into a wheelchair after the injury that, which occurred in March 2016 while playing hockey, caused him the rupture of the dorsal vertebrae. «I would never have expected such a result even if, considering how the week went, I would say it is deserved. If I am here with this medal around my neck, protagonist of this World Cup together with my teammates, I must say thanks to Bob Club Cortina, Fisip, Onlus The Game Never Ends; and then to our coach Loris Ottaviani, Erik Di Stefano and Orlando Volpe Maruggi: together they have orchestrated this season and have always supported us despite the problems related to Covid. I am very excited for next winter and I hope that the parabob will enter soon as a Paralympic discipline in view of the 2026 Games that will be held in my city ».

The parabob national team is structured around the Bob club Cortina: in fact, the Fisip (Italian Paralympic sports federation) has entrusted the care of the discipline to the association chaired by Gianfranco Rezzadore.

“We are a good group of technicians and athletes (besides Menardi, Fabrizio Caselli, seventh yesterday; Giulia Ruffato, twelfth; Pier Alberto Buccoliero, thirteenth; David Jennevin, not present at the World Cup, ed) and Flavio’s silver is really a great satisfaction “, comments Rezzadore,” the season had started a bit subdued, with the forced renunciation of the first World Cup rounds, but we managed to straighten it and now to win a medal beautiful”.