Rose’s Paralympic quest ends in disappointment in the super combined

 GREAT Britain’s Sean Rose admitted he was close to rock bottom after failing to finish the course in the men’s alpine skiing super combined event on Saturday March.

DISAPPOINTED: British Paralympic skier Sean Rose sees his Paralympic medal quest end in failure in Whistler (Getty Images)

Sit-skier Rose, 38, crashed early in the super-G section of the race, the result of icy conditions, ensuring he leaves Vancouver 2010 empty-handed.

“I really went out for it”, he said. “I gave it my best, but from the first gate I was sliding sideways and realised it was really icy so I decided just to get stuck in.

“I knew there were really good guys in the field and that they would be going for it, so I knew I had to too.

“I came into a turn and thought I could make it but it was icy and it slipped away. After I skied down the rest of the course, I thought the way I was going I would have bitten the dust at some point. My plan was to come here and prove a point but unfortunately I didn’t make it.”

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The result is a disappointment for Rose, who had made no secret of his hopes for a podium place but could only manage a best performance of seventh in the downhill.

“I didn’t come here to finish in the top ten, I came here to win a medal,” he added.

“It’s not all negative. I’m not going away with the satisfaction of a medal, but I have had the satisfaction of knowing I came best prepared with the best support staff.

“The races didn’t go my way, but if they had I think I could have medalled. I have had a great season when I look back and I’m really looking for to next year’s World Championships in Sestriere.”

But Rose has refused to rule out competing in Sochi in four year’s time.

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“Never say never,” he said. “I love the sport, I love the support I get. The sport is a real rollercoaster with high and lows.

“The highs are amazing and life-changing but I just wish I could have brought a medal back for GB for all the people who have helped me along the way.”

Meanwhile, Russia continued their dominance over the cross-country skiing events scooping gold in men’s 1×4 km + 2×5 km and the women’s 3×2.5 km relays.

Kirill Mikhaylov, Sergey Shilov, Nikolay Polukhin topped the men’s podium while Liubov Vasilyeva, Maria Iovleva, Mikhalina Lysova scooped women’s gold as both times Ukraine clinched silver.

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