Monica Bascio: Paralympic Athlete

News

Bascio will return to Handcycling in 2011

Written by Monica

Sunday, 29 August 2010

Evergreen, CO
August 29, 2010

Two time Paralympian (xc skiing) and 2002 World Handcycling Champion Monica Bascio will return to handcycling in 2011, the 40 year old announced today.

Bascio -- who switched from handcycling to cross country skiing in 2003 when women's handcycling was left off the schedule for the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece -- has decided to return to handcycling after competing at the Paralympic Games as a cross country skier and biathlete in Torino, 2006 and Vancouver, 2010. Bascio says she will no longer ski race.

"I really love cross country skiing, and training for the sport got me in to the best shape of my life...but it really is the hardest sport in the world, and there's just no beating the Eastern European teams....their programs and their funding are just too deep...you're talking about girls who train 1,000 hours per year and are motivated to win by huge cash bonuses for medal performances."

Since Monica's last international cycling race in 2006, the UCI has taken over Paralympic cycling, and the classification structure has changed dramatically, including a better system for putting athletes with like abilities together in the same class. "There's now an H3 class which is comprised of women with pretty much the same level of function as I have, so that levels the playing field tremendously....when I look at my per k times from past performances, I'm already in the medal hunt!" said Bascio.

Monica has a brand new Invacare Force R Handcycle on order from her sponsor, Invacare Top End. The new bike is a different configuration for the American, but according to Bascio, it's a welcomed change: "In the past, I had to race against girls who were basically ambulatory and ride kneeling bikes and I was at a disadvantage....I rode a similar "para kneeler" bike but could not generate as much power due to my level of injury." The classification change is what motivated Bascio's return: "Everyone in the H3 class pretty much rides the exact same style of bike and has a similary disability, so that makes things much better....not to mention that [Invacare product designer] Chris Peterson's latest design is without question the best bike out there, so I am definitely excited about my chances for 2011 and beyond!"

Following the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver, Monica took the summer handcycling season off to spend time with her family and recharge the batteries. "I really enjoyed spending the summer being a normal Mom, spending time with my 3 year old son, Henry, and not worrying about a training plan. I feel rested for the first time in a long time, but I am also antsy to get back on the bike...I don't like being out of shape!" According to Bascio, another advantage to switching back to handcycling is that the training regiment is better suited to family life: "With skiing, you need to get on snow and it's always dependent on conditions, and you need to drive to a nordic center. Sometimes, a 90 minute workout would take 5 hours out of my day...with cycling, it's much easier to develop a training plan around my family life."

For more information about Monica's handcycling endeavors, please visit http://www.monicabascio.com

Monica Bascio Wraps up 2010 Games with 8th in Sprint

Written by Administrator

Sunday, 21 March 2010

Rainy conditions made for fast, sketchy conditions in today's 1 kilometer sprint, the final event of the 2010 Paralympic Games. The men's race was heartbreaking: the top eight finishers were scheduled to move on to the semi final, and US Men took 9th, 10th, and 11th in the race...which was definitely a bit frustrating for the team. Monica picked up her teammates however, by finishing with the 8th fastest time in the women's race and moving on to the semifinal.

In her semifinal, Bascio ended up 4th after a very impressive race from the two Ukraininans, Ludmilla Pavlenko and Olena Iurokovska. Iurokovska would end up with the silver and Pavlenko 4th in the final later in the day, after a very surprising Gold Medal performance by Itally's Francesca Porcellato.

"I'm glad it's over and I'm exhausted...the 1k isn't really my event, but ironically, it was my best result at these games." said the American on her way to pack and prepare for tonight's closing ceremonies. Final results from the 1k sprint are HERE.

Monica 10th in 5k

Written by Administrator

Thursday, 18 March 2010

Monica Bascio placed 10th in today's 5 kilometer middle distance race at the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games. For the second consecutive race, the American was impeded by other skiers within the first kilometer of the race. "The Russian and the Korean are both inexperienced, and each was taking one of the two tracks up the stadium hill, but were having problems making it over the top...it took me a while to find space to get around them. It only cost me 10-15 seconds overall, but it's frustrating."

Bascio skied very strong the entire race and definitely left nothing out on the course...but was once again disappointed. "I came here very prepared, am stronger and faster than I have ever been, but still ended up 10th! It's not why I came here, an there's really not much else I can say...I suppose my skis could have been faster, but I wouldn't characterize them as 'slow' either."

Monica was 94 seconds out of the Gold, and just over 1 minute out of the bronze, which shows just how competitive the women's sit ski field has become since 2006. "I've skied the two fastest races of my career, and it just isn't enough....the programs for most of the European Countries -- and of course the Canadians -- are much better supported, and I think it makes the difference for that final 1-2% that can put an athlete on the podium...that said, I am at least happy that I raced my best and finished strong!"

Monica has one more race: The 1k Sprints on Sunday...stay tuned!

You can find complete results from the 5k HERE.

Bascio 9th in Vancouver 10k

Written by Administrator

Sunday, 14 March 2010

Monica Bascio finished 9th in today's 10 kilometer long distance race at the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games. Although somewhat disappointed with her result, she is lucky to have finished the race at all after a near collision with Korean skier, Vo Ra Mi just 1 kilometer in to the event. "She crashed in front of me and was laying sideways across the tracks...I was headed fast downhill and had nowhere to go...fortunately I only ran over her skis and poles and didn't end up crashing...but it couldn't have been closer!"

Conditions were fast, and Bascio ended up with a time of 34:33, 3:41 back of repeat Gold Medalist, Ludmyla Vauchok of Belarus. Despite the fastest 10k race of her career, the 40-year old mother of 2 1/2 year old Henry (who has incredible timing:napping in the stands and missing the race) was not satisfied: "I did not come here just for the experience, I am looking for a lot more...I felt fast, I skied hard, and am definitely strong, but obviously it wasn't enough...I hope I can bounce back for the 5k on Thursday."

Considering places 3-9 are all within about 90 seconds...on any given day, most of the women in the field could win a medal. Keep your eyes on the 5k race this Thursday.

You can view the full results HERE.

Watch 2010 Paralympics on TV and Online!

Written by Administrator

Thursday, 11 March 2010

We just learned that there are a variety of ways to keep your eye on the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver (March 12-21, 2010). As a quick reminder here are Monica's race dates:

10k - March 14
5k - March 18
1k Sprint - March 21

Best place to watch live is: http://www.paralympicsport.tv There will also be a variety of coverage on Universal sports (tv and online during the games) and NBC (but not until April). More detailed information can be found in the press release HERE . (Does anybody actually get Universal sports on their tv ?) We'll also post results and photos as soon is humanly possible right here on monicabascio.com. Some more news about the team can be found on the usparalympics website (yes, the coach did NOT mention Monica in the latest story...who knows why!?)

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