Berliner Boersenzeitung - Dutch snowboarding couple going for gold at Paralympics

EUR -
AED 4.23719
AFN 80.135834
ALL 97.798467
AMD 439.918372
ANG 2.064799
AOA 1056.846409
ARS 1360.720244
AUD 1.777509
AWG 2.079657
AZN 1.96193
BAM 1.952774
BBD 2.319306
BDT 140.372501
BGN 1.957511
BHD 0.433329
BIF 3420.200601
BMD 1.153762
BND 1.475314
BOB 7.937701
BRL 6.396923
BSD 1.14872
BTN 98.846843
BWP 15.440077
BYN 3.759175
BYR 22613.741343
BZD 2.307425
CAD 1.567634
CDF 3319.374037
CHF 0.936589
CLF 0.02819
CLP 1068.414555
CNY 8.28586
CNH 8.293676
COP 4771.406987
CRC 579.002869
CUC 1.153762
CUP 30.574701
CVE 110.094415
CZK 24.809301
DJF 204.553057
DKK 7.458935
DOP 67.844878
DZD 150.02854
EGP 57.436382
ERN 17.306435
ETB 154.970782
FJD 2.593946
FKP 0.85007
GBP 0.851719
GEL 3.161735
GGP 0.85007
GHS 11.831668
GIP 0.85007
GMD 81.350521
GNF 9953.577519
GTQ 8.827323
GYD 240.327627
HKD 9.056198
HNL 29.980547
HRK 7.534872
HTG 150.646582
HUF 402.831494
IDR 18805.518075
ILS 4.153792
IMP 0.85007
INR 99.436426
IQD 1504.76845
IRR 48573.393545
ISK 144.001307
JEP 0.85007
JMD 183.915035
JOD 0.818026
JPY 166.746331
KES 148.410047
KGS 100.896972
KHR 4605.863487
KMF 492.083374
KPW 1038.386074
KRW 1578.52003
KWD 0.353305
KYD 0.957217
KZT 589.187089
LAK 24784.597729
LBP 102923.126693
LKR 343.947074
LRD 229.744025
LSL 20.672569
LTL 3.40676
LVL 0.697899
LYD 6.276275
MAD 10.502826
MDL 19.67152
MGA 5186.963107
MKD 61.439803
MMK 2422.55778
MNT 4132.43735
MOP 9.286811
MRU 45.60334
MUR 52.507446
MVR 17.773667
MWK 1991.813802
MXN 21.865408
MYR 4.898299
MZN 73.782996
NAD 20.672569
NGN 1779.608917
NIO 42.274498
NOK 11.43964
NPR 158.154948
NZD 1.917363
OMR 0.443343
PAB 1.14872
PEN 4.146176
PGK 4.798565
PHP 64.714144
PKR 325.655117
PLN 4.270166
PYG 9165.798137
QAR 4.190307
RON 5.019678
RSD 117.018686
RUB 91.852174
RWF 1658.729896
SAR 4.330755
SBD 9.630905
SCR 16.394893
SDG 692.823564
SEK 10.97093
SGD 1.480163
SHP 0.906676
SLE 25.440586
SLL 24193.823059
SOS 656.482819
SRD 43.29833
STD 23880.550451
SVC 10.051426
SYP 15001.047614
SZL 20.65899
THB 37.493823
TJS 11.601824
TMT 4.038168
TND 3.398934
TOP 2.702225
TRY 45.423733
TTD 7.78993
TWD 34.05944
TZS 2969.399091
UAH 47.647972
UGX 4139.585956
USD 1.153762
UYU 47.226825
UZS 14595.385312
VES 117.876459
VND 30084.352323
VUV 137.415593
WST 3.021918
XAF 654.942206
XAG 0.031816
XAU 0.000335
XCD 3.1181
XDR 0.814538
XOF 654.942206
XPF 119.331742
YER 280.767965
ZAR 20.727577
ZMK 10385.260948
ZMW 27.769972
ZWL 371.510994
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Dutch snowboarding couple going for gold at Paralympics
Dutch snowboarding couple going for gold at Paralympics

Dutch snowboarding couple going for gold at Paralympics

Soulmates on the slopes and in life, Dutch snowboarding power couple Lisa Bunschoten and Chris Vos and are going for gold together at the Beijing Winter Paralympics.

Text size:

Vos and Bunschoten were both silver medallists in the snowboard cross event at the 2018 PyeongChang games -- where Bunschoten also bagged a bronze in the banked slalom.

Hot contenders for podium finishes once more, the pair was chosen to carry the Dutch flag at the Paralympics opening ceremony Friday.

At Sunday's snowboard cross qualifying event, Bunschoten was ranked third heading into the finals and Vos was eighth on the leader board -- after taking a tumble on his first run but registering a better time on his second.

Vos said the snow conditions on the course could be unforgiving.

"The snow is still really hard. In the night it's really cold, and then it warms up but the snow doesn't warm up, so it's still really hard... one little thing and you're gone," he told AFP.

Now 23, Vos rode into the history books as a teen when he became the first-ever athlete to compete in a para-snowboarding event at the 2014 Sochi games.

- Not love at first sight -

Bunschoten, 26, and Vos have been a couple for more than eight years.

"It wasn't love at first sight -- he was really annoying," Bunschoten said, an assertion Vos separately conceded to with a laugh.

But as they grew up, romance blossomed, and these days they train together at the gym and on the slopes.

They also learn a lot from each other's different boarding styles.

"We are totally the opposite. He loves to jump and fly, and I love the small technical features," Bunschoten said.

The four-time world champion said it's sometimes tough watching each other compete.

"I didn't see his fall, but I saw his start and it was amazing," Bunschoten said.

"It's pretty nerve-wracking... it's pretty intense sometimes," added Vos, who also has four world championship titles.

The coronavirus pandemic has prevented athletes' family members from travelling to China to cheer them on, giving the couple's relationship an added layer of resonance.

"We are really lucky to have each other here -- having your soulmate here is amazing," Bunschoten said

"It's really cool that we can do this together. We can push each other and be there for each other when something is wrong," said Vos.

In 2021, the pair had only two races due to event cancellations from the pandemic, but this year will be much busier, they expect.

Bunschoten and fellow Dutch Paralympic snowboarder Renske van Beek are encouraging other young women to get involved in para-snowboarding, running training camps called Adaptive Board Chicks.

And Vos has a foundation that helps young people with disabilities get involved in sport and exercise.

Outside of snowboarding, Bunschoten is a keen horse rider while Vos has acquired his pilot's licence and enjoys flying private planes.

Born with fibula aplasia, Bunschoten's left leg grew shorter than her right -- and at 16, she made the agonising decision to have her foot amputated.

Her brother encouraged her to try snowboarding as a teenager.

Doctors didn't expect Vos to ever walk again after he hurt his right leg at age five in an accident with a digging machine, which resulted in it becoming paralysed.

On a family skiing holiday two years after the incident, Vos's father thought he might be able to stand on a snowboard, so he tied a rope around his waist and off they went.

The Winter Paralympic snowboard cross finals are on Monday and the banked slalom finals take place next Saturday.

(A.Lehmann--BBZ)