08.03 Alpine Skiing: Santacana Wins Paralympic Gold for Spain

ROSA KHUTOR, Russia, March 8 (R-Sport) – Spain's Jon Santacana successfully defended his Paralympic downhill skiing title in the visually impaired class at the Sochi Games on Saturday.

Santacana, 33, won his third Paralympic gold while Miroslav Haraus of Slovakia finished second, 0.25 seconds behind the Spaniard. Bronze went to 16-year-old Canadian Mac Marcoux, who squeezed pre-event favorite Jakub Krako off the podium.

"It is incredible to be here with the best racers in the world," Santacana said. "I've trained so hard to be here. There will be no celebration tonight. Tomorrow we have super G, and then we'll have two days to celebrate."

Russia's Ivan Frantsev failed to repeat the success of his sister Alexandra, who took bronze in the corresponding women's race earlier in the day, and finished ninth.

The race used so-called “calculated time,” in which each athlete’s time is modified by a percentage reflecting the extent of their disability.

Over the nine days of competition in Sochi, a total of 72 gold medals will be awarded in five sports.