VERNON – On the ten-year anniversary of the freestyle skiing accident that landed him in a wheelchair, sit-skier Josh Dueck of Vernon won a his second Winter Paralympic silver medal.

It was the first day of competition in men’s sitting skiing downhill in Sochi, Russia.

“This is fantastic,” Dueck said after the race. “I’m really about performance, and I took a fast line down the hill and took some chances and I got pretty lucky… I crossed the line and was thrilled. Second is awesome.”

Fellow Canadian Mac Marcoux of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. won a bronze.

Japan’s Akira Kano (1:23.80) edged Dueck’s time of 1:24.19 for the gold medal. Takeshi Suzuki, also of Japan, captured bronze (1:24.75).

He won a silver medal at the games in Vancouver in 2010.

Dueck said he has matured since Vancouver and credits that for the medal win. He added the sit-ski technology the Canadian Team has developed over the past 4 years helped as well.

“The equipment has been huge. We’ve invested a lot of energy in keeping this equipment competitive with the rest of the world, and maybe even a little better,” Dueck said. “I had the ability to trust in that, point it down the hill and have a good time.”

Next up for the Vernon sit skier is Sunday’s men’s super-G.

To contact the reporter for this story, email halexander@infotelnews.ca or call 250-491-0331.