In her second race of the 2010 Paralympics, North Vancouver’s Lauren Woolstencroft kept living up to her billing as a key Canadian medal threat. The standing skier captured her second gold medal of the Games in Wednesday’s (March 17) giant slalom race at Whistler Creekside, making her a seven-time Paralympic medallist in her third Games.

Woolstencroft sped to gold in Monday’s (March 15) women’s standing slalom race, where Vancouver’s Karolina Wisniewska sped onto the podium with her for a bronze medal. Wisniewska barely missed repeating that feat in Wednesday’s giant slalom as she finished fourth.

Germany’s Andrea Rothfuss won her second silver medal of the 2010 Games in the giant slalom, and Slovakia’s Petra Smarzova earned some redemption by capturing the giant slalom bronze medal after she bounced herself out of contention in the slalom by missing a gate.

Woolstencroft now has five Paralympic gold medals to her credit, and is the first Canadian competitor to win two golds at this home-snow Games. The electrical engineer with B.C. Hydro has been skiing since she was four and racing since she was 14, and has won more than 50 international medals in her glittering career.

Named the International Paralympic Committee Athlete of the Year in 2006, Woolstencroft was born without legs below her knees and no left arm below her elbow.

Canada’s Arly Fogarty and Melanie Schwartz finished 11th and 12th, respectively, in the women’s standing giant slalom. The giant slalom race for men’s standing skiers was set to wrap up Wednesday afternoon after The Question’s press deadline.