MORE VELODROME ACTION AT THE PARALYMPIC GAMES IN LONDON
Boldt, Milley and McDougall in action for Day 2 of track cycling
(London, GBR – August 31, 2012) The 2012 Paralympic Games continued today with yet more exciting track cycling action in the state-of-the-art velodrome at the Olympic Park in London.
Eric Van Den Eynde, Head coach of the Canadian Para-Cycling Team, was very thoughtful after the second day of competition at the track. “For the second day on the track, if we look at individual performances, it went well. It is certain that at the Paralympic Games, we are always looking at medal performances, but we must also look at the individual and personal performances. It should be observed that the level of competition is much stronger here.”
In the Men’s C2 individual Pursuit, Arnold Boldt of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, went on to place 12th in the race, posting a qualifying time of 4:13.458.
Jaye Milley of Calgary placed seventh of the C1 Individual Pursuit with time of 4:24.673, while friend and teammate Brayden McDougall was disqualified for getting too close from his competitor in the last lap of his race. Milley is coming back from an injury that saw him miss valuable training time.
“The only shadow of the day is disqualification of Brayden McDgougall. It is always difficult in competition with athletes who have congenital disabilities. Brayden was probably very excited by the noise of the crowd, and approached within 10m of his competitor during the last turn. If you look at his time, today, Brayden has achieved its personal best. He still has a lot of cycling in him, and has a promising future,” added Van Den Eynde.
“With Jaye, there are many factors that must be taken into account. Jaye did suffer from an injury after the World Cup races in Baie Comeau. The injury prevented him from putting his prosthesis, so he was kept out of training for a few weeks. He returned to training intensively after his recovery, but he is not in optimal form here. Today, however, he was 12 seconds faster than his individual pursuit performance at the World Championships, so it is a very positive sign.”
The track cycling event at the 2012 Paralympic Games continues tomorrow. For complete results of the 2012 Paralympic Games in Baie-Comeau, please visit www.london2012.com.
Photo credit: Phil MacCallum/Canadian Paralympic Committee
