Vernon’s Curt Minard capped off the Para-snowboard SBX World Cup circuit with a bronze medal in the official PyeongChang 2018 test event in South Korea.
Minard’s Canadian teammate, Andrew Genge, of Oshawa ended up fourth.
A strong showing from both Upper Limb athletes in qualifications ended up pitting them against one another in the small final, with Minard (lost his hand in an industrial accident) edging out Genge to take home the bronze, as well as his first world cup podium of the season.
“I finished the qualifications fourth overall in my category and raced a total of four more heat races after qualifications to take home the bronze,” said Minard from South Korea.
In the semi final race against eventual gold medalist Manuel Pozzerle of Italy, Minard and the Italian borth crashed in one of the final turns of the course.
“It was a mad scramble to see who could hike back up to the gates and continue, he beat me to the course and ran over me as I scrambled to get in his way,” said Minard. “It was comical but he ended up crossing the finish line first. I was within a grasp of a big final podium appearance.”
In the all-Canadian small final, Minard was spurred on by the deafening crowd.
“It was an amazing feeling when I could hear the crowd screaming as I crossed the finish line,” he said. “My fellow teammates and my girl, Heidi, were screaming. It was exactly how I imagined it would be. A super exciting moment to represent Canada and podium at this marquis event of the year.”
The event was the final race of the World Cup circuit on the course that will host the 2018 Paralympics event. Minard finished sixth overall in his category on the season series.
“This snowboard cross course was an extremely difficult and challenging course that put me and many other athletes way out of our comfort range,” said Minard. “It was fast, technical and had some very challenging jumps and banks that had to be manoeuvred just so as it had the potential for high-impact injuries.
“In training we had numerous athletes with serious injuries and it made for some challenging mental hurdles to overcome by ensuring that i wanted to always ensure I contained my comfort but still take the necessary steps to push for that podium finish. I just kept mentally preparing myself each race to channel my strengths and believe that I could achieve this.”
Minard, who carries sponsorship from IBEW 258, Hager Orthopaedic Clinics Ltd., Limitless Communications LTD, and Canada Snowboard, praised the support of his family and friends for pushing him to be the best athlete he can be.
“Heidi, our kids (especially Maddex and Jordan, who are always there pushing me), it’s hard not being around and it takes a full commitment from all of us to sacrifice the push for the 2018 Paralympic Games,” said Minard, who returns to Canada for his final race of the season, the Canadian championships at Quebec’s Mt. Tremblant.