Palmer monoskier wins first world title

PALMER — Andrew Kurka received an early birthday gift this week.

Kurka, a Palmer Paralympian who turns 25 Friday, earned his first career world title, finishing first in the men’s downhill at the 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in Tarvisio, Italy. Kurka, a sit-skier, put in a pair of strong runs, according to a press release issued by teamusa.org, to slip past the defending world champion, Corey Peters of New Zealand. Kurka used a time of 1 minute, 11.5 seconds to edge Peters by six-tenths of a second. The win marked Kurka’s second time on the podium during the World Championships. He earned a bronze in the super-G in 2015.

Kurka, who was left partially paralyzed after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident when he was 13, has enjoyed great success in the world of adaptive skiing as a member of the U.S. National Team. Kurka has had to overcome a variety of serous injuries — including a broken back suffered during a training run in Sochi, Russia, that ended his 2014 Paralympic Games and a broken femur last year — to enjoy much of that success.

Since the broken femur in 2015, Kurka has enjoyed a strong stretch off success. In February of 2016, Kurka grabbed a gold medal in the men’s giant slalom event of the World Cup Finals.

Following that win, Kurka said mindset has been key.

“I haven’t been quite so gung-ho,” Kurka said by cellphone from Aspen, Colorado, last February, during a break in the IPC Adaptive World Cup Finals. “I’m using my brain, finishing a lot more races. Before, it was I win or I crash. Now, I’m consistently up there on the podium. It’s OK getting silver or bronze every now and then.”

That success has continued in 2017. Earlier this month, Kurka medaled three times during an IPC World Cup event. He earned gold and silver medals in downhill events, and added a bronze in the super-G.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.