Badenhorst in golden form in Canada

The rise of 2018 Australian Paralympic Team Co-captain Joany Badenhorst has continued ahead of PyeongChang, after she claimed gold in the snowboard cross at the IPC Para-snowboard World Cup Finals in Big White, Canada today.

The 23 year old posted first in the qualification run and then fought her way through the quarter and semi finals in style, before defeating Spain’s Astrid FinaParades in her head-to-head fight for gold.

The victory to end the World Cup is an ominous sign for the her rivals with one month to go until the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang Paralympic Games. Badenhorst will contest both the snowboard cross and banked slalom.

“All the riders were out in full force today, meaning competition was as tough as ever, but securing gold and having that a month out from the Paralympic Games is incredibly reassuring, and knowing that the hard work we put in is leading us the right way is fantastic,” said Badenhorst.

“I could not be happier with my runs today. I did the fastest time for the girls in my class, and managed to keep that momentum going until the very end.”

With tough weather conditions and low visibility, fellow Australian’s Ben Tudhope(SB-LL2) and Sean Pollard (SB-UL) put on world-class performances finishing within the top 10 in their respective classes.

Pollard finished in 5th place, while Tudhope placed 8th.

Badenhorst and the other Australian Para-snowboarders will finish their IPC World Cup Series campaign this week, concluding with the banked slalom event taking place this Friday, 9th February (AEDT).

By APC Media