Lost pole costs Hubrich dearly

Press, 16 February 1984, Page 32

Lost pole costs Hubrich dearly

NZPA special correspondent Sarajevo Leaving his pole behind in the starting gate didn’t stop Wellington’s Marcus Hubrich from recording one of this country’s best performances at the Winter Olympics. Hubrich, the national champion, finished twentyninth in a field of 109 starters and could well have finished in the top twenty if he hadn’t encountered problems in both legs of the race.

Starting thirty-sixth on the first run, he lost his goggles a quarter of the way down costing him at least a half a second, however the loss of the pole in the second run cost him the most time and a higher placing. Realising that he had left the pole behind Hubrich hesitated for a moment after the first gate as he made the decision to continue: “This course was one of the most technically demanding that I have ever skied on, it was more like a slalom course and without a pole it is almost impossible to finish,” said Hubrich. Impossible or not Hubrich’s time was only five seconds slower than the eventual winner, Max Julen,

of Switzerland. His time of 1:26.98 was the thirtieth best of the second leg, a time the top Austrian coach, Karl Kahr, believes would have been at least four seconds faster with both poles. He said Hubrich had tremendous potential and believed the 21-year-old would have finished in the top 20 if it hadn’t been for the handicap. Also disappointed with his run was Simon Wi Rutene, of Rotorua, despite finishing thirty-seventh in the event. “I could have done a lot better, I couldn’t keep a good line on the very tight course but I guess thirtyseventh in the Olympics is not too bad,” Wi Rutene said. With the giant slalom events now finished attention turns back to the long awaited downhill events with the women’s race scheduled for this morning (N.Z. time). Christine Grant and Kate Rattray will compete in the race that has so far been postponed three times. Heavy snow was falling at the Jahorina venue yesterday and officials are worried that poor visibility might once again affect the running of the event.