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.