Gourley and Perrine dominate World Cup podium

Gourley and Perrine dominate World Cup podium

Australian Para-Alpine skiers Mitchell Gourley and Melissa Perrine have put their competition on notice, with five medals between them at the first World Cup of the season in Kuhtai, Austria.

Two-time Paralympian Gourley showed his strong form finishing on top of the podium in the men’s standing Giant Slalom race 2 after finishing third in race 1 in a stacked field of athletes.

Gourley, who hails from Barwon Heads in Victoria, has spent the last couple of years working on his technique with the view of improving his skiing all-round in the lead up to his tilt at a third Winter Paralympic Games.

Mitch has added to his multiple podiums from the 2015-2016 season with a win and third place in the first big competition of the season giving him confidence heading into the following World Cups and World Championships.

Head Coach Christian Geiger was impressed with Mitch’s results over the weekend “Mitch has really put in some hard miles over the past few years stripping his technique back to basics and rebuilding.  This has really paid off for Mitch and he is now a top contender on the World Cup circuit.”

Following their strong form at the IPC and Europa Cups in Landgraaf a month ago, Perrine and her guide Andy Bor had an impressive and consistent performance, taking three medals from three races at the Kuhtai World Cup.

Geiger said, “Mel and Andy are skiing really well together at the moment, Mel has made some big technical gains over the past 18 months which Andy has been instrumental in helping her achieve.”

Competing in the Visually Impaired category, the pair took silver in both Giant Slalom races as well as a bronze medal in the slalom.

The Para-alpine squad now move to St Moritz for the final World Cups of the year from 19 – 22 December.