Spain starts 2013 IPC Alpine World Championships with first and fifth place finishes

With the first day of racing completed earlier today in La Molina for the 2013 IPC World Championships, the Spanish team started the competition with a first and fifth place finish in the downhill event in the men's visually impaired group. Jon Santacana and guide Miguel Galindo Garcés came in first; Gabriel Gorce and guide Arnau Ferrer finished fifth, three seconds behind Santacana and fourteen hundredths of a second behind fourth place Russian Ivan Frantsev and his guide German Agranoskii.

The rest of the Spanish team is scheduled to arrive tomorrow with women's standing skier Úrsula Pueyo, men's sit skier Óscar Espallargas, and women's sit skier Nathalie Carpanedo scheduled to compete in the Slalom and Giant Slalom competitions, with the Slalom scheduled to take place on Saturday and the Giant Slalom for next Tuesday.

Other countries also started the IPC World Championships off well with Germany in the medal lead with one gold, silver, and bronze. The United States was second with one gold and a silver. France was third with one gold and two bronze medals. Austria was fourth with one gold and a bronze. Slovakia and Spain were fifth with one gold each. Canada was seventh with one silver and one bronze. Switzerland, Russia, and Italy were eighth with one silver each. Great Britain finished out the medal earning nations with one bronze.