Paralympic hopeful on track
DESPITE a horrifying high speed crash on the ski slopes, Cornish Paralympic hopeful Talan Skeels-Piggins won two bronze medals in the Super G Race in Canada.
The competition was the last chance for Talan, who hails from Falmouth, to race before the Paralympics and to make sure he achieved qualifying standard.
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Two drop-in craft workshops at Trebah Garden proved a hit with youngsters over half-term. Ninety-five children accepted the challenge to make clay models or decorative animal masks. Tabitha is pictured with the mask she made at one workshop.
Talan was left paralysed after a motorbike accident seven years ago and is confined to a wheelchair. However he was determined to represent his country in skiing and uses a specially-adapted sit ski to enable him to compete.
He is one of seven alpine skiers selected for the Paralympics GB team next month in Vancouver. The day before the Super G races Talan was taking part in the downhill race when he crashed at 65mph. He flew 30ft down the slope, having been launched off the final large roller.
His front binding snapped in half on landing, sending him cart-wheeling off the course.
He said: "The pressure was really starting to build up. I knew I had the ability to ski fast and complete the runs, but the crash has really shaken me.
"However, having worked with our sports psychologist preparing me for such events, I had coping strategies to put into action. They worked, I worked and now I have two bronze medals and, more importantly, the points required to race the Super G at the Paralympics."
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