Greta Small has finished her Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games campaign on a high after achieving her best ever alpine combined result in Olympic competition.

In recording her Olympic Personal Best finish (13th), it is also Australia's third-best ever result in the Olympic alpine combined event and our best in 20 years.

The event involved racers taking two runs in a single day, one downhill and one slalom, where the final times were combined to determine the overall result.

Taking place on the speed and technical courses at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre, ‘the Rock' and ‘the Ice River' respectively proved to be a challenge too much for even the most experienced competitors. There were 11 of the 26 racers that could not complete both courses.

After mixed results in her previous events, Greta has done herself proud.

"I tried to go for it up the top [of the course]. It's snowing here and super flat light which makes it really challenging," she said.

"It might look like snow but it's basically like skiing down an ice rink. Every turn down the last pitch I felt like I was just going to fall so I was just fighting to keep up and make it to the finish.

"It might not have been pretty but you know Mikaela Shiffrin, the world's best, went out on the first eight gates so that just shows you how tough it is out there."

Many would expect that after the Games Greta had earned a rest, a break from competition and maybe even a trip back home to recuperate and recharge. But that was far from her mind, with her performance at the Games making her determined and ready to race.

"I'm on a plane straight back to Switzerland, we have a World Cup event next weekend where I'll be straight back on downhill skis.

A proud Porepunkah woman, Greta keeps her family and fans close. Right after she tackled the harshest of conditions in Beijing she made a point of thanking her family, friends and fans from her small country town as she departed the competition.

Having come to the end of her third Olympics, Greta made it clear where her mind is at about her performance, her mum and future in the sport.

"My mum said she is proud," she laughed.

"I'm definitely not satisfied with that slalom, I know I can ski so much better than that. 13th place, I'm stoked, that's my best ever result, but I'm still hungry for more.

"I know I've got a lot more to give in me and this is not the end. It's not that last you have seen of Greta Small that's for sure."

olympics.com.au
Shannon Knaus

Louis Muhlen-Schulte has defied the elements and put Australia in the top 25 after an incredible performance in the men's giant slalom at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.

In extremely challenging conditions the Olympic debutant finished 23rd in a field of 89 racers, equalling Australia's best ever giant slalom result set by Zali Steggall in 1992.

Louis went down the track known as the ‘Ice River' and he was subjected to heavy snow falls, with it falling sideways and swirling due to the wind. Visibility was down to only a few gates in the distance.

But the handpicked surface underneath covered with the fresh powder made sections of the track extremely icy and difficult for even the best competitors to race.

However Louis, originally from Melbourne, put in a terrific performance and held his nerve with incredible skill to put up a time of 1:08.44 for run one and 1:10.04 in run two.

With the combined time of 2:18.48, just 9.13 off the pace of the gold medal, Louis finished 23rd overall. The result is even more impressive as nearly half the field failed to complete both runs.

"It's tough with the weather which makes it all the more challenging." Louis said.

"I felt good, I was pretty happy with a lot of the skiing. I made some mistakes here and there but that's just the way it goes.

"One turn can just ruin your day, but I was able to make the most of it and fought through to the end which was good.

"I felt a bit more comfortable on the second run for sure, just settled into it a bit more and found my rhythm a bit better.

"It was tough no matter what but I tried to get that flow and feel it in the moment.

"I'm really happy with the skiing and the result as a whole and it's just the start. I'm going to take the positives and head into the slalom feeling confident and feeling strong.

The outstanding performance sets gets his Olympic campaign off to a cracking start. He now turns his attention to the slalom which takes place on Wednesday 16 February.

olympics.com.au
Shannon Knaus

Taking to the speed course at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre for the women's super-g, Greta Small put together an outstanding performance to finish 31st.

Having overcome five knee surgeries and three ACL injuries to qualify for the Beijing Winter Games, Greta remained composed to reach high speeds over 100km per hour with accuracy and control.

It was a fantastic effort from Greta, with few errors through the steepest sections of the course, equalling her best Olympic super-g performance from PyeongChang 2018.

"It was a super fun hill to ski." Greta said.

"The venue is awesome, the snow is incredible. I didn't quite execute where I planned to, I didn't quite push on the technical turns or really execute those to carry the speed down the bottom.

"So [I'm] a bit disappointed with that, but definitely some lessons to learn in there for the hill and to push in the downhill [track event] coming up.

"Compared to the World Cup it was just a quick super-g in terms of length. It was really tough through the bottom technical section of the pitch. There was really nowhere to make up speed. Once you lost it, it was kind of game over just to carry along the long flats.

The conditions were ideal for the competitors, with blue skies and little wind over the ‘Rock'. The women's super-g run has a 540m vertical drop commencing at an altitude of 1825m over a course than ran 1940m.

In her third Olympic Games, that achievement wasn't lost on Greta.

"It's really amazing. I can finally say I'm a triple Olympian which is pretty cool. Only the second female Aussie Alpine skier to do that."

Greta will now prepare for the women's downhill which takes place on Tuesday 15 February.

olympics.com.au
Shannon Knaus