Enfield Skier On Team USA For World Championships

COLORADO SPRINGS, CT — Nine skiers, including a Fermi High School alumnus, were selected to represent Team USA at the 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships, as announced by U.S. Paralympics, a division of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Seven of the nine athletes on the team competed at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, where the U.S. won six medals in alpine skiing.

Andrew Haraghey of Enfield, a 2014 Fermi graduate who currently attends Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a member of the team. At the age of six months, he contracted viral encephalitis, which resulted in cerebral palsy, and has severe muscle tension from the waist down. He competed for the United States in the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in South Korea.

“We’re excited to return for our first major championships since the Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang,” said Kevin Jardine, director of U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding. “This will be a big test for our team after a limited season on snow, but we have a young and motivated group of athletes who are ready to compete for the podium. We can’t wait to see who steps up to the challenge.”

Headlining the U.S. roster are Paralympic medalists Andrew Kurka (Palmer, Alaska) and Laurie Stephens (Wenham, Mass.). In PyeongChang, Kurka won two Paralympic medals including gold in the men’s downhill sitting to become the first American man to win gold in alpine skiing since 2006. Stephens finished on the podium in her fourth consecutive Winter Games, capturing bronze in the women’s downhill sitting to bring her career total up to seven medals as the most decorated member of the U.S. alpine team.

At the last edition of the world championships in 2017, Team USA collected five medals led by a standout performance from Kurka who captured three medals, including his first world title in the downhill event.

Team USA will take to the snow for the first time at a major event this season after cancellations on the world cup circuit due to weather and snow conditions. The 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships will take place in two countries for the first time in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia and Sella Nevea, Italy from Jan. 21-Feb. 1. Athletes will compete in giant slalom, slalom, super-G, downhill and super combined.

Story courtesy of U.S. Olympic Committee
Photo credit: Mark Reis

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