More medals for Swiss paralympians

Swiss paralympians have won two more medals at the Winter Games in Salt Lake City, bringing the country's medal tally to six.

On Tuesday, Switzerland’s Ruedi Weber secured his second podium finish of the games when he took bronze in the ten-kilometre sitting cross-country skiing event.

The Swiss paralympian, who has already bagged a gold medal for himself in the sitting biathlon, was competing in the LW11 category, which is open to athletes with disabilities in their lower limbs.

Weber, who has been paraplegic since 1989 as a result of a work-related accident, finished just 16 seconds behind the eventual gold medallist, Italy’s Roland Ruepp.

Weber’s compatriot, Hanspeter Weber, also took bronze in the same event, but in the category for athletes with lower-limb disabilities and no functional sitting balance.

With a total of four gold and two bronze medals, Switzerland currently ranks fifth in the overall standings, behind the Russian Federation, the USA, Norway and Germany.

swissinfo with agencies