Teutonia, Brazil - Kevin Reimer has gone from having an outside chance of competing to being the favorite to win his third consecutive IGSA World Championship. The reigning IGSA World Cup Series Champion suffered a serious leg injury back in June and has missed all of this years' World Cup races.
He had signed up to race in Teutonia but until yesterday it was questionable if he would even compete. In yesterday's first qualifying run Reimer set the quick time to show that he was a serious contender. Today he went even quicker placing himself as the clear favorite. Reimer won the 2009 World Championship in Australia and the 2010 World Championship in Germany. If he can win tomorrow, it will arguably be the greatest comeback in the history of the sport.
Douglas Silva went slower on Saturday but still retained the number two position. Photo Liz Kinnish
Local hero Douglas Silva retained his number two spot. His second qualifying run was approximately a half second slower than what he ran on Friday. His Friday time was still the second fastest time over the two days. Vinicius Mendez moved up the time sheets to slot himself into the number three spot. He is a dark horse going into tomorrow's final eliminations.
2009 winner Mischo Erban will start fourth. Photo Liz Kinnish
2009 Teutonia winner Mischo Erban went quicker than he did on Friday, but it still wasn't enough to keep him in the number three spot. Erban was bumped down one position and will start fourth. Brazilian Otavio Munhoz will line up in the number five spot.
Brazilians Danky Dean, Thiaga Lessa and Max Ballesteros also made it into the top ten in sixth, eighth and ninth respectively. Newly crowned 2011 IGSA World Cup Series Champion Patrick Switzer moved up three spots in the final qualifying session and will line up third. As Switzer has become more and more comfortable with the Teutonia race course, he has become faster and faster. He can't be counted out to contend for the win tomorrow and could be the surprise of the day. American James Kelly has also been getting quicker as he's gained experience on the Teutonia course. After qualifying 29th on Friday, James made a big move up the time sheets to occupy the tenth spot. Like Switzer, Kelly has the race experience and the talent to pull off an upset tomorrow.
Malarrara Pro Teutonia
Open Downhill Skateboarding
Top Ten Qualifiers
1. Kevin Reimer, Canada 1:19.488
2. Douglas Silva, Brazil 1:20.664
3. Vinicius Mendez, Brazil 1:20.916
4. Mischo Erban, Canada 1:21.058
5. Otavio Munhoz, Brazil 1:21.527
6. Danky Dean, Brazil 1:21.789
7. Patrick Switzer, Canada 1:21.880
8. Thiago Lessa, Brazil 1:22.352
9. Max Ballesteros, Brazil 1:22.468
10. James Kelly, United States 1:23.710
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