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Monoskier Anna-Lena Forster
Photo: SIMON BRUTY / AFP
Flag bearer Anna-Lena Forster won the first German medal at the Paralympics in Beijing.
The monoskier finished second in the seated downhill, 0.82 seconds behind her main Japanese rival Momoka Muraoka and claimed her sixth medal overall at the Winter Games.
In her third participation, she won precious metal for the first time in her supposedly weakest discipline, so far she has not finished fourth in the downhill.
“I'm really happy.
I'm super relieved that I can take a medal with me.
That's a good start," the 26-year-old told the Sport Information Service.
Despite gusty winds and freezing temperatures on Mount Xiaohaituo in Yangqing, Forster put on a solid but flawless run just 14 hours after arriving at the opening ceremony.
That's why, unlike at the World Cup in January, it wasn't quite enough for first place.
»The chance of gold was there, of course.
Unfortunately, today I wasn't able to pull off quite the performance that I'm actually able to drive," said Forster self-critically.
The Radolfzeller will continue with the Super-G on Sunday, and she still has four more chances.
"Maybe there will be more," says Forster optimistically.
Andrea Rothfuss just missed her 14th medal at the Paralympics.
The 33-year-old finished fourth in the standing class after a strong drive, only 51 hundredths were missing from a surprising bronze medal.
After a strong start, Noemi Ristau missed a goal in the visually impaired with guide Paula Brenzel.
The only male German starter, Leander Kress, fell shortly after the start on the steep slope, but was uninjured.
The Paralympics are still overshadowed by sports politics: On Thursday, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that athletes from Russia and Belarus were not allowed to start because of the war in Ukraine.
It revised a decision made the previous day.
Numerous teams had threatened to boycott the games.
A total of 83 athletes are affected by the exclusion.