Kalle Eriksson et sa guide Sierra Smith remportent une troisième médaille aux Jeux, le bronze à l’épreuve de slalom

CORTINA, Italy – Saturday it was mist, Sunday it was dense fog, but elements don’t seem to faze the Canadian Para alpine skiers as Kalle Eriksson and his guide Sierra Smith won the bronze medal in the last day of competition at the Paralympic Winter Games.

Giacomo Bertagnolli and his guide Andrea Ravelli of Italy thrilled a big crowd at the venue with the victory in a two-run time of 1:29.29. It was their second gold and fourth medal of the Games.

Michal Golas and Kacper Walas of Poland took the silver in 1:29.56 and the Canadians, third fastest on both runs, followed in 1:31.26. Triple gold medallists Johannes Aigner and Nico Haberl of Austria were fourth. There were 18 entries.

It’s been a self-described roller coaster week for Eriksson and Smith. They opened with a silver in the downhill and bronze in the Super G. Then they were fourth twice, missing the podium by 0.05 seconds in the combined and 0.12 seconds in the giant slalom.

‘’It’s a sigh of relief. I’m so happy we could finally land a strong second run and get on the podium,’’ said Eriksson, 21, from Kimberley, B.C. ‘’I’m excited we’re leaving on a high note because the last couple of days were hard to deal with.’’

Conditions at the Tofane Para Alpine Ski Centre were difficult as heavy fog enveloped the course most of the day after a heavy snowfall overnight. That made the conditions completely different from the rest of the Games.

That made communication between the guide and skier, who talk through a headset as they race, more difficult than usual.

‘’It’s hard to ski aggressively with a wide line while trying to communicate,’’ said Smith, from Ottawa, who turns 26 Tuesday. ‘’I’m trying to keep my breath so I can let Kalle know what’s going on.

‘’At the top of the course, we’re like ‘Oh boy’.  I told Kalle just follow me and we’ll see how it goes.’’

Kurt Oatway of Calgary, the Super G bronze medallist, was eighth in the men’s sitting slalom.

Canada’s other medallist in Para alpine was Michaela Gosselin of Collingwood, Ont., with bronze in the women’s slalom in misty conditions Saturday.