 Klebl in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Klebl |
| Born | 5 January 1972 Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [1] |
Christopher Klebl (born 5 January 1972) is an American-Canadian cross-country skier who represented the United States at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Paralympics before winning a gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. [2] [3] [4]
Klebl was born in Düsseldorf, Germany as an American citizen. He grew up in Austria and moved to the United States in 1987. In 1995 he suffered back injury during a snowboarding accident that left him paralysed below the waist. [1] [3] [5] He worked as a massage therapist in Kauai, Hawaii and then in the software industry in California before moving back to Colorado and taking up sit-skiing. [5]
He has a degree in economics from Syracuse University. [1]
Klebl competes in the LW11 para-Nordic skiing classification using a two ski sit-ski and was introduced to the sport by Monica Bascio. [1]
He began competing for the US para-nordic skiing team and represented them at the 2005 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships held in Fort Kent, Maine, United States where he finished 17th in the 10 km and 18th in the 5 km. [2]
Kebl was selected for the United States team for the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin, Italy. In the men's 1 × 3.75 km + 2 × 5 km relay he finished sixth alongside teammates Steve Cook and Michael Crenshaw. [6] In the individual events he finished 23rd in the 5 km, [7] 18th in the 10 km, [8] and 11th in the 15 km. [9]
Between 2007 and 2008 he won 11 medals at IPC World Cup events. At the 2009 World championships in Vuokatti, Finland he finished 4th in the 15 km, 6th in the 10 km and 7th in the sprint. [2]
At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada he was again selected for the United States team. In the 1 km sprint he finished ninth in the qualification round and was eliminated. [10] In the 10 km he finished 16th and in the 15 km he finished 8th. [1]
In 2011 he moved to Canmore, Alberta and joined the Canadian national team in time for the 2011 IPC Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. [2] He won a silver medal in the sprint finishing behind Trygve Steinar Larsen of Norway. In the 15 km race he finished in a time of 35 minutes 34.6 seconds to win the gold medal. [1] [3]
Klebl competed in his third Paralympics at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, representing the Canadian team. He finished 6th in the 15 km, 8th in the 1 km sprint and partnered Brian McKeever to 4th position in the 4 x 2.5 km relay. [1] [11] In the 10 km event Klebl won his first Paralympic medal, taking gold in a time of 30 minutes 52 seconds. In doing so he prevented Russia's Roman Petushkov from winning a record equalling seventh gold medal at a single Paralympics. [4] [12] [13]
The 2010 Winter Paralympics, or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing Ceremony in Whistler Medals Plaza.
Australia participated in the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino, Italy, from 10 to 19 March 2006. The Turin games represented Australia's ninth appearance at the Winter Paralympic Games. Australia were represented by 10 athletes, which made it their largest ever Winter Paralympic Games contingent. Australia competed in three sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, and cross-country skiing, but not ice sledge hockey or wheelchair curling. Prior to the games, the Australian Paralympic Committee set a target of two medals, down from the seven that were won four years earlier in Salt Lake City. This was due to the retirement of three-time medallist Bart Bunting, as well as changes made to the disability classification system. This target was met with Australia winning a silver and a bronze medal to finish equal 13th on the medal tally.
Paralympic cross-country skiing is an adaptation of cross-country skiing for athletes with disabilities. Paralympic cross-country skiing is one of two Nordic skiing disciplines in the Winter Paralympic Games; the other is biathlon. Competition is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The United States sent 56 athletes to the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin, Italy, the largest delegation of any nation. Chris Devlin-Young, a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team and four-time Paralympic medalist in alpine skiing, served as the flag bearer at the opening ceremonies. ice sledge hockey player Lonnie Hannah, a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City and the bronze medal-winning team in Turin, was the flag bearer at the closing ceremonies.
Katarzyna Rogowiec is a Polish Paralympian. She won two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin in cross-country skiing, and also competes at the highest levels in biathlon.
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Brian McKeever is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete, who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals, making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever. McKeever claimed a 16th Paralympic gold medal in the men's para cross-country middle distance vision impaired race at Beijing 2022, drawing him level with the German para-alpine racer Gerd Schönfelder for the most men's Winter Paralympic wins.
Cross-country skiing at the 1980 Winter Paralympics consisted of 28 events, 18 for men and 10 for women.
Nils Erik Ulset is a Norwegian biathlete, cross-country skier, and three-time Paralympic champion.
Roman Aleksandrovich Petushkov is a Russian cross-country skier, biathlete, and Paralympian. He competes in classification category sitting events.
Iurii Illich Kostiuk is a Ukrainian biathlete, cross-country skier, and Paralympic Champion.
Grygorii Vasylovych Vovchynskyi is a Ukrainian biathlete, cross-country skier, and Paralympian. He is classified LW8, and compete in classification category standing.
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Lukyanenko is a Ukrainian biathlete, cross-country skier, and Paralympian.
Volodymyr Ivanov is a Ukrainian biathlete, cross-country skier, sighted guide, and Paralympian.
Following the success of the first ever 1976 Winter Paralympics in Örnsköldsvik four years earlier, Norway was selected to host the Paralympic Games in 1980.
Andy Bor is an Australian former ski coach and sighted guide for visually impaired skiers. He was a coach at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino, and was Melissa Perrine's guide skier at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver and 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi.
Cross-country skiing at the 2018 Winter Paralympics was held at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre, South Korea. The twenty events were held from 11 to 18 March 2018. Canadian Brian McKeever won three individual gold and a team relay bronze, his third triple gold medal performance, for a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals in all, making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever.
Canada competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 18 March 2018. Canada sent a team of 55 athletes to compete in all six sports. The chef de mission was retired sledge hockey player Todd Nicholson, appointed in January 2017.
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Rushan Minnegulov is a Russian biathlete and cross-country skier. He won the gold medal in the men's 20 km standing cross-country skiing event at the 2014 Winter Paralympics held in Sochi, Russia. He also won the silver medal in the men's 1 km sprint classic event and the gold medal in the 4 x 2.5 kilometre open relay event. He also competed in biathlon and cross-country skiing at the 2010 Winter Paralympics held in Vancouver, Canada.
