Snowboarders impress in Laax
Switzerland's top snowboarders have made a perfect start to the ISF Tour, winning all four competitions at the "Take-Off" event in Laax.
Following wins in Saturday’s halfpipe events for Therry Brunner and Fabienne Reuteler, the home team dominated Sunday’s alpine competitions with Gilles Jaquet and Milena Meisser celebrating victory in the parallel giant slalom.
Jaquet’s win marked a repeat of his success in Laax two seasons ago and assured the 27-year-old rider of a berth at February’s Winter Olympics, while Meisser’s first place finish was her first ever at World Cup level.
As a team the Swiss men demonstrated their strength in depth in the alpine category by taking all of the first five places in Sunday’s contest. Nagano bronze medallist Ueli Kestenholz was beaten by Jaquet in the semi-finals but was able to make sure of his own ticket to Salt Lake City by finishing fourth.
By reaching the final against Jaquet, Simon Schoch increased his chances of taking one of the two remaining Olympic places in the alpine discipline with Urs Eiselin and Schoch’s own brother Philipp the likeliest candidates for the final spot.
On Saturday, reigning Olympic gold medallist Gian Simmen booked his place at the upcoming Games with a sixth place in the halfpipe, while Brunner and Reuteler all but guaranteed themselves Olympic berths with their clear victories.
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