Hyncicova, Gray and Luczak Compete On Final Day Of Winter Olympics

BEIJING, China—Three Buffs competed on the final day of competition in Beijing Sunday, with Petra Hyncicova taking part in the 30K freestyle cross country race and both Cass Gray and Magdalena Luczak taking part in the Mixed Team Parallel alpine event.

The three performances bring to an end the Buffs experience at the XXIV Winter Olympics in Beijing, as Closing Ceremonies took place later Sunday.

Originally scheduled for Saturday but postponed a day due to high wins, Gray and Luczak both took part in the Mixed Team Parallel race, just the second time the Olympics has hosted the event.

Both Canada (Gray) and Poland (Luczak) tied 2-2 in their team's quarterfinal match-ups and unfortunately both did not advance by time to the quarterfinals. Both were unfortunately assigned to the slower red course, which over the course of the entire competition held a 49-9 advantage with most of those nine wins on the red course coming because the skier on the blue course fell or was disqualified.

Gray was the third skier for Canada, going on the slower red course against Slovenia's Andreja Slokar, and finsihed 1.04 seconds behind her. Luczak also had the unlucky draw of the slower red course and was pushing hard at the end to catch Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund. With about two gates to go, Luczak was gaining ground but fell and ended up disqualifying.

On Canada's team, Gray was teamed with Erik Read and Trevor Philp, both University of Denver alums who were coached by CU head Coach Andy LeRoy when he held the same position at Denver.

In the 30K freestyle race, Hyncicova started in bib 49 and moved up eight spots throughout the 18 mile race to finish 41st in a time of 1:36:26.6. She had enough in the tank at the end to win a sprint to the finish with Kazakhstan's Angelica Shuryga.

Hyncicova came out fast, moving up as high as 35th after the first of four laps around the 7.5K loop, then settled into 40th place by the halfway mark, holding that position at every intermediate time until the last 4.6K of the race, where she fluctuated between 41st and 42nd place through the end, eventually winning the sprint for 41st.

That brings an end to the XXIV Winter Olympics and turns attention to the Paralympic games in Beijing, which will take place March 4-13. Two Buffs are slated to compete in alpine skiing with Kyle Taulman, a current CU sophomore, making his first Olympic appearance and Spencer Wood, a recent graduate, making his second appearance.

Hyncicova, Gray and Luczak Compete On Final Day Of Winter Olympics

Players Mentioned

Magdalena Luczak

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