Kurka Wins Cortina Downhill
The U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team took on the iconic Olympia delle Tofane track at the Cortina d’Ampezzo World Cup this morning, where Andrew Kurka landed on his first podium and earned his first win since sustaining a shoulder injury at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, China.
It was a beautiful bluebird day in Italy, with perfect icy course conditions built for speed. “I really enjoyed this course mostly because it was high speed right from the get-go, so when you’re coming out of the start, you really gotta muscle down and stick your face in it,” said Kurka. “It was a course that wasn’t built to go slow by any means, and that’s where I excel.”
The course set and picturesque conditions allowed far fewer DNFs and DSQs than we have seen this season. On the women’s side, the youngest U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team member, Audrey Crowley, made her World Cup debut in Cortina. On one of the most renowned tracks in World Cup alpine, Crowley has already made a mark on the circuit, finishing fourth in her first World Cup at only 16 years old. Jesse Keefe finished ninth in the men’s standing event, followed by Andrew Haraghey in 12th and Spencer Wood in 13th. On the men’s sitting side, Ravi Drugan finished ninth and Matthew Brewer rounded out the top 10.
Kurka talked about his long career and how his experience led to his success today. “I was able to take the experience that I have from being on the team for so long and slow down and tactfully maneuver myself in areas that gave me the advantage to help get me to the finish where a lot of people [had to] manage mess ups or crashes, I was able to consciously slip in there. My focus moving into tomorrow is to manage and assess, inspect the course and send it. The Italians set (tomorrow), and with it being their home mountain, I have a feeling they know exactly how this mountain is going to run well. There’s going to be some errors and sketchy stuff, just like there was in the downhill, and that's where I excel. I’m really excited going into tomorrow’s super-G.”
The team is taking on super-G in Cortina tomorrow, starting at 4:30 a.m. ET.
