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Posted on Tuesday April 6th at 4:40 p.m.
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Murphy said he was "totally stoked" to once again be on the podium at a large adaptive snowboard event.
Carl Murphy (lfet) on the Podium at Tremblant.
"I was feeling confident as I lined up in the start gate for my first run," he said. "I had a great start with a good line through the top section of the course, but I came unstuck halfway down the course which resulted in a massive crash."
"The pressure was on as I lined up in the gates for the second run. I knew a mistake in this run would put me out of medal contention. Fortunately I put in a solid, mistake free run and was only .5 seconds off the top podium spot."
Current World Champion, Tyler Mosher of Canada took first and Ian Lockey, also from Canada, placed third.
The race format was initially set at three runs with the fastest two runs counting, but the decision was made early on race day that the format would be reduced to two runs because unseasonably warm temperatures were creating a much more difficult course.
Times are worked out with a classification system, similar to the system used in Paralympic skiing, with a percentage given to each rider against his or her disability. The more disabled riders get a larger percentage taken off their finishing time.
"It was a race full of serious competition and drama with lots of crashes," commented Murphy.
"The Canadians put on a great event on the longest and and most technical course any adaptive snowboarding event has ever seen. It was great to see the guys with disabilities ride such a technical course."
"I hope to be back again next year for the World Championships."
The adaptive athletes trained with the able-bodied Nor-Am riders throughout the morning and the World Cup was underway by noon when the riders and the sun heated up the course.
"It was inspirational for the adaptive athletes to be able to snowboard with the able-bodied riders and it pushed them to take their riding to the next level. Merging the two communities into one is a great step in and of itself," remarked Dustin Heise, Sport Development Manager for Canada~Snowboard.
Murphy's next stop is a World Cup race in Copper Mountain Colorado on 6 April (7April NZT) and the USASA National Championships also at Copper Mountain from 6 April to 9 April (7 to 10 NZT) where he will compete in Boardercross, Slalom and Giant Slalom.
Murphy is one of five New Zealand snowboarders receiving direct financial support from Snow Sports New Zealand via a high performance investment from Sport & Recreation New Zealand (SPARC).
About Adaptive Snowboarding
Adaptive snowboarding refers to a modified version of the sport, with changes in equipment, rules, and technical specifications that enable persons with physical disabilities to participate in both recreational and competitive activities.
Adaptive snowboard events include male and female athletes with a physical disability such as spinal injury, cerebral palsy, amputation, or visual impairments. Athletes compete based on their functional ability, allowing athletes with different disabilities to compete against each other.