Ben Reed ducks past a gate on the slalom course Sunday. (Ben Murray / S&S)
Ben Reed ducks past a gate on the slalom course Sunday. (Ben Murray / S&S)
Bamberg skier Doran Logsdon, 12, clears the final gate on the slalom course Sunday on his way to the finish line. (Ben Murray / S&S)
Men's professional division skier Leigh Plowman arcs around a gate Sunday during his first slalom run at the 2005 Chrysler U.S. Forces Europe Ski and Snowboard Championships. (Ben Murray / S&S)
10-year-old Chelsea Smithback falls on the slalom course. Smithback, who had been in contention in the youth girls division before the spill, earned a bronze medal in Saturday's giant slalom championship. (Ben Murray / S&S)
GARMISCH, Germany — Crashing through gates with bare forearms Sunday, Staff Sgt. Bradley Peterson turned in two of the day’s fastest times to win the men’s open division slalom title for active duty servicemembers in the 2005 Chrysler U.S. Forces Europe Ski and Snowboard Championships.
Barreling downhill in a T-shirt on a sunny slope at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen ski resort, the 25-year-old vehicle mechanic from Spangdahlem Air Base fought off a number of contenders to win with a two-run time of 48.86.
Peterson said he chose to wear the tight, white T-shirt because it was the most aerodynamic piece of clothing he’d brought to the mountain.
“I haven’t got a downhill suit, so that’s what I use,” he said.
Sunday’s competition capped two days of championship races at Garmisch that started Saturday morning with snowboarding and skiing giant slalom events. A number of the weekend’s top racers, including Peterson, fared well in the slalom and giant slalom competitions, with several taking home double gold.
One of those racers was men’s military masters-class skier Chief Master Sgt. John Roberto from Geilenkirchen, Germany, who said he wasn’t planning to settle for a divisional title Sunday to match his GS performance — Roberto wanted the fastest time of the day.
“I’m going to let ’em rock and roll, [AND]see what happens,” Roberto said just before his second slalom run Sunday.
Other skiers had similar plans, and winners in several categories turned in times close to Roberto’s 50.13, including men’s professional winner Gardner Wilgoose, boy’s junior champion Sebby Smithback and men’s military senior winner Jeremie Oates.
On the women’s side, Garmisch local Christa Ellis came away with two gold medals, edging out Vicenza, Italy’s Susan Keith in both skiing events in the civilian seniors’ division. In the women’s open division, Kristina Davis from Oberamergau, Germany ruled the weekend, winning both the slalom and giant slalom, along with Julia Goodwin from Garmisch, who did the same in the girls’ junior category.
For the active-duty women on the slopes Saturday and Sunday, masters-class skier Debbie Dickson was the fastest two-planker in both slalom and giant slalom.
Garmisch skiers dominated most of the younger age divisions. Junior boys Alex Denikiewicz and Sebby Smithback traded the top two podium spots in the skiing events, and junior skiers Ania Denikiewicz and Joyce Ellis did the same for the girls. All four are from Garmisch.
Ten-year-old Ellis said Sunday the short, tight turns of the slalom suited her better than the wide-open GS, though she had fared well in both.
“I don’t like going so fast,” she said. “I rather like short turns.”
By the end of competition, Garmisch had seen high winds, low temperatures and an overnight snowstorm before the weather broke Sunday. But organizers said that things had gone about as smooth as they could.
“It went great,” race organizer David Oakland said. “We lucked out on the weather because the storms came in between the races.”
