"Snowboard cross is a sport with high technical demands, as athletes negotiate a series of challenges from jumps and berms to rollers and drops, all along a winding course. But all this skill is subordinated to the generation of speed. Every movement is calculated to limit resistance and drag."
"Add the challenges to balance and navigation that come from racing with a physical disability and it is perhaps not surprising to find that the snowboard cross finals at the Winter Paralympics on Sunday were carnage. The Australian Amanda Reid, a Paralympic gold-medal swimmer making her debut as a snowboarder, was taken to hospital after crashing out backwards during the heats."
"Zyw has motor neurone disease and is understood to be the first snowsport athlete to compete with the condition at the Paralympics. Having watched video of his crash, friends and family believed a lack of upper body strength caused by the disease left him unable to steady himself in the critical moment."
Snowboard cross spectators witness dramatic moments as racers punch through the horizon on jumps and berms along a winding course. The sport demands high technical skill navigating jumps, berms, rollers, and drops, but prioritizes speed generation through minimizing resistance and drag. Athletes with physical disabilities face additional challenges balancing and navigating the course. The Winter Paralympics snowboard cross finals experienced significant incidents, including Australian swimmer Amanda Reid being hospitalized after a backwards crash during women's LL1 heats, and British competitor Davy Zyw, who has motor neurone disease, crashing on Daytona Corner. Multiple collisions occurred in men's finals across different disability classifications.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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