Woolstencroft lifts Canada to record Winter Paralympic Performance

Seven winter gold in Vancouver is most all time for Canada

WHISTLER, BC, March 19 /CNW Telbec/ - When Lauren Woolstencroft (North Vancouver) captured gold Friday in the women's Super-G, not only did she add to her historic performance in Whistler, she also helped Canada set a record for most gold medals at any Winter Paralympic Games with seven. The previous mark was six, set at the 2002 Salt Lake City Paralympics.

"While there are plenty of competitions still to be played this week, it's important for our team to pause for a moment to celebrate this significant record," said Blair McIntosh, chef de mission, Team Canada. "It is fitting that Lauren is the athlete to break our Canadian record. Congratulations to all of our amazing athletes, coaches and support staff for establishing a new golden performance. With two days left, we hope to still add to this new standard."

Woolstencroft finished Friday's race with a time of 1:26.46, which was 5.46 seconds faster than second place Melania Corradini of Italy.

With four gold medals already for Woolstencroft at these Games and the Super Combined scheduled for Saturday, she has a chance to tie Chantal Petitclerc (athletics) and Stephanie Dixon (swimming) for most gold medals at any single Paralympic Games, summer or winter.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee set a goal of finishing within the Top 3 in gold medal standings at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Canada currently sits third behind Russia and Germany.

    
    HISTORICAL MEDAL COUNT FOR CANADA AT THE PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES
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    Year                        Rank       Gold    Silver    Bronze    Total
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    1976 Ornskoldsvik           9 (9)      2       0         2         4
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    1980 Geilo                  8 (7)      2       3         1         6
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    1984 Innsbruck              10 (7)     2       8         4         14
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    1988 Innsbruck              8 (8)      5       3         5         13
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    1992 Tignes - Albertville   9 (9)      2       4         6         12
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    1994 Lillehammer            14 (12)    1       2         5         8
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    1998 Nagano                 15 (9)     1       9         5         15
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    2002 Salt Lake City         6 (7)      6       4         5         15
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    2006 Torino                 6 (6)      5       3         5         13
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    2010 Vancouver              3 (4)      7       4         3         14
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Note: The International Paralympic Committee ranks countries according to the total number of gold medals earned. The number in parenthesis ( ) is where Canada ranked in total medals. The 2010 totals for Canada are as of 2 p.m. PT on March 19, 2010.

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is a non-profit, private organisation with 43 member sports organisations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The CPC is responsible for creating an optimal high-performance environment for the Canadian Paralympic athletes to win at Paralympic and ParaPanAmerican Games. By supporting Canadian Paralympic athletes and promoting their success, the CPC inspires all Canadians with a physical disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organisations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca.

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For further information: Michael Cvitkovic, Press Chief, Canadian Paralympic Committee, [email protected], [phone] or [phone]; Marie-Helene Cayer, Media Relations (French Media), Canadian Paralympic Committee, [email protected], [phone]