Years of hard work and dedication have paid off for Para-Alpine skier Mitch Gourley, with the VIS athlete winning the 2017 “Super Combined” at the Wold Championships in Tarvisio, Italy.
Competing at his fifth World Championships, Gourley got off to a strong start in the Downhill where he placed fourth. He then went on to finish eighth in the Super-G before leaving his competition behind to win the Super Combined.
Gourley clocked 1:07.35 in the first Super-G component of the race, placing him sixth in a highly competitive field of 25 athletes. He followed this with the fastest slalom run of all competitors – 44.16 seconds – to rocket up the standings and take the gold.
The standing ski athlete, who is missing his left arm below the elbow, has been competing since 2002. Gourley lives in Barwon Heads and often makes the long trip to Albert Park for training at the VIS.
He competed at the 2010 and 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and has won multiple World Cup medals – now he can proudly add “ World Champion” to his accolades.
The win will give Gourley great confidence ahead of his more favoured events, Slalom and Giant Slalom, which are still to come in the competition.
