Globale News » Paralympic gold medal was slipping away

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Wholesale Shoes . -- A 67-car field, an unusually low attrition rate and a relatively tight road course turned an endurance race into a pushing and shoving match. And no one was immune. The result: dinged and damaged cars at every turn at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. "It feels like you are playing poker every time you are passing a slower car," driver Sebastien Bourdais said. "Hopefully by the end of the race, there are fewer cars on track and people start to figure out a little bit more where they need to be on the race track because it feels like there are some terrorists out there." The merger of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Series created a crowded field for the 52nd running of the Rolex 24. And with few cars getting knocked out early, traffic around Daytona International Speedways 3.56-mile road course became problematic for everyone involved. Complicating the situation, many of the sports car drivers have considerably less experience than the professionals. "Its not a criticism; I think every series has this," Indianapolis 500 winner and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Tony Kanaan said. "We probably need to ask, Do we need them? ... Would I like to see only professionals? 100 per cent. Is that going to happen? 100 per cent not. Its part of it and thats the risk we take, but yes, there are guys there that if I teach you how to drive in two days, youd be better." Kanaan offered examples of some of the strange moves he encountered during his seat time. "I remember when I used to drive with my father, my mom would say, Im not worried about you. Im worried about other people," Kanaan said. "Its the same thing here. You have no idea what they are going to do. You think they are going to turn left and they turn right. Somebody has their left blinker on and you are thinking hes going to the left, and then he goes to the right. "They dont know where to stop if they have a problem, and they panic when they see something in front of them and hit the brakes and spin. I think thats part of this race." Kanaans sentiments were echoed throughout the garage. "I strongly believe there are some people out there who should not be out there," Ganassi driver and three-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon said. "They are going to hurt somebody or hurt themselves." Added Action Express Christian Fittipaldi: "Its wild out there. Of all the eight races Ive done here, this is definitely the worst." The track at Le Mans is longer and has more straightaways, which provide drivers more chances to pass and more opportunities and take a break from the stress of traffic. Its far from similar at Daytona. "You literally could do a double stint and not get a single clean lap," DeltaWing driver Andy Meyrick said. "Its tough on the driver because youre constantly in traffic." Vans Shoes Sale . -- Jerome Williams glanced at Philadelphias schedule and realized he would be facing the Oakland Athletics yet again, with another new team. Air Max 95 Sale . Ending a nine-game losing streak? That gave the Milwaukee Bucks veteran forward a reason to smile. https://www.wholesaleshoesforcheap.com/air-max-plus-sale/ . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line.KRASNAYA POLAYNA, Russia - Two hundred metres into the race, Brian McKeever was suddenly on his backside and it appeared his ninth career Paralympic gold medal was slipping away. But he wasnt letting it go without a fight and the Canmore, Alta., cross-country skier, led by guide Graham Nishikawa of Whitehorse, caught up to the pack to win the mens visually impaired sprint at the Sochi Paralympics on Wednesday. Its McKeevers second gold of the 2014 Games and the 12th medal of his illustrious Paralympic career. The 34-year-old also won gold in the 20-kilometre event on Monday. The two Canadians easily advanced to the final where a Russian skier stepped on McKeevers pole, causing him to crash around the 200-metre mark of the one-kilometre race. But McKeever scrambled to his feet and, with the help of Nishikawa, caught up to the rest of the pack. "It wouldnt be right for me to tell you what I said in my head, but once the cuss words were out, the only thing you can do is get back up and race," said McKeever. "I thought we were clear, but that is normal and it happens in sprinting when you are all fighting and tight. Everyone is going flat out. It is intense and everyone is at their limit. We are just fortunate it happened in the first 200 metres and not at the end so we had time to catch up." Meanwhile, alpine sit-skier Kimberly Joines of Rossland, B.C., finished second in the womens slalom although the results are still unofficial after a German skier appealed her disqualification from the first run. A decision is expected Thursday morning. Not including a medal for Joines, Canada has eight medals (two gold, two silver, four bronze) and sits third in the overall tally. Russia has a wide lead with 47 total medals while Ukraine is second with 14. Canadas goal is to finish in the top three in gold medals but is currently in fourth withh McKeevers two. Vapormax Sale. Ukraine is third with three while Germany is second with five and Russia leads with 16. Nishikawa admitted he felt a rush of panic when he saw McKeever go down. "It wasnt until we got back up around the Russians and had the Swedes in sight that I felt a huge relief," he said. McKeever credited Nishikawa with getting him the gold. "The snow was so heavy today," he said. "He basically towed me up that hill and ... and gave us a chance. It is not how we planned things, but that was a pretty awesome day." Swedens Zebastian Modin hung on for the silver medal, while Russias Oleg Ponomarev won bronze. Earlier this week, Nishikawa shared guiding duties with Erik Carleton to lead McKeever to his first gold of the 2014 Games. But Carletons name was on the start list so he was the only one to receive a gold medal. Nishikawas performance Wednesday has earned him a gold of his own. "It feels absolutely awesome," said Nishikawa, who races on the able-bodied World Cup circuit. "I said earlier this is a whole new world for me. Im so impressed by everything. This whole experience has been amazing and I just wanted to do whatever I could to be here and help Brian. We have been friends for a long time so this is very special." A handful of other Canadians also competed in the sprint races. Chris Klebl of Canmore qualified for the mens sit-skiing heats but did not advance to the final. Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, Ont., along with her guide Phil Wood of Canmore had their day come to an end in the semifinals of the womens visually impaired category, while Paralympic rookie Brittany Hudak of Prince Albert, Sask., did not advance past the womens standing semifinals. In curling, Canada improved to 6-1 and clinched a spot in the semifinals with a 10-4 victory over South Korea. ' ' '