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Small's 18th place highlights final week of Alpine World Championships

17/2/2015

 
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Australia’s nine alpine skiers who competed in the biennial FIS Alpine world Ski from February 2 to 15 will leave the Vail-Beaver Creek resort in the United States with pride and more experience.

A look back on the achievements by our squad of seven men and two women since over the past week:

Greta Small provided one of the notable results of the Championships when she finished 18th in the Combined event, backing up her 15th at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, last year.

In the Downhill leg of the event, Small put in a strong run, despite the unforgiving firm conditions.

Small looked for more speed on the top section but made up for the lost time in the 30 seconds before the finish line, stopping the clock just 3.78 seconds off the pace set by the eventual winner, Tina Maze from Slovenia.

Small was 23rd in the Downhill component of the Combined, which was an improvement on her 33rd position in the Women’s Downhill on February 6.

In the Downhill event she was 6.08seconds behind Maze so her Downhill time in the Combined event was a quantum leap for the 19-year-old.

The teenager, who pushed herself to the limit by competing in five events in the Championships, was disappointed by her time in the Slalom section of the Combined but pleased with an overall 18th in the event.

Three days later, Small, along with Lavinia Chrystal, competing at her first event at these Championships, lined up in the Giant Slalom.

Small went into the event nursing a head cold and a lack of energy but despite this, she skied strongly in the first run.

Her second run showed obvious signs of physical fatigue resulting in a final placing of 36th.

“The second run I was not satisfied with,” Small said.

“I did not have the same energy and heat as on the first run. Overall it was a solid effort and one of my better results in Giant Slalom at such a high level event.”

Chrystal finished in 45th, after losing time going into the long middle flat section.

The mistake seemed to inspire Chrystal to be more aggressive for the remainder of the run, however, she was unable to pull back enough time to make a big improvement with her overall result.

The men took to the GS course on the same day for their qualification session.

Australia’s Dominic Demschar automatically qualified for the final while Ross Peraudo, Luc-Henri Chevalier and Luke Laidlaw advanced to the final with solid performances in the qualification session.

In the final, Demschar erred in the top section, which resulted in him skiing out of the course in the first 20 seconds of the run.

Peraudo skied a solid run top to bottom but in his words he was a little too much in “cruise control”.

Chevalier skied tactically, especially through Golden Eagle, but just before the Red Tail jump made a costly mistake.

He lost significant time, however, made it to the finish and qualified for the second run.

Laidlaw risked everything in his run and was behind the line for most of the time but he kept the skis running and maintained his speed. 

He made it through each of the tough sections on the Birds of Prey track, but had his eyes on the finish line too early, causing him to fall five gates from the finish.

Unfortunately Chevalier dislocated his shoulder on the fourth gate in the second run and was unable to continue.

Peraudo’s second run came to an end when he made a tactical and technical error.

Despite a worsening cold, Small joined Chrystal in the Slalom on February 14. To add to her woes, Small bumped her head on a table just before the first run and there was doubt on whether she would even start the event.

Combining the physical demands of competing in five events, the bump and the head cold, Small was noticeably down on power and elected not to continue after a slow first run.

Chrystal admitted after the event that she felt underprepared for the event with demands with her master’s degree meaning she was unable to train sufficiently in November followed by a lack of snow in Europe in January.

She finished in 45th place.

Mike Rishworth, competing in his only event in the Championships, and Peraudo made it through the qualification round to the final.

Daniel Demschar looked a likely starter in the final until he crashed in the qualification round.

Laidlaw also encountered difficulties in qualifying and did not finish.

Unfortunately Rishworth and Peraudo were part of a lengthy DNF list with a large number of athletes unable to master the challenging and irregular snow conditions and course.

It was an unfitting way for the 27-year-old Rishworth to bow out of international competition.

Rishworth has been a long time member of the Australian National Team and has decided to devote his time to study audio engineering.

The Australian National Alpine Team will now focus on the remainder of the Northern Winter before heading home to prepare for the busy Domestic Competition season.

Photo: Greta Small races during the Ladies' Alpine Combined Downhill run © Al Bello/Getty Images North America

High hopes in Vail-Beaver Creek

9/2/2015

 
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The first Australian athletes have competed for Australia in the speed events at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail-Beaver Creek in the United States.

Women’s Super G

Greta Small kicked off her FIS World Ski Championships campaign with a solid 29th place in the Super G in Vail-Beaver Creek, USA, on day one of competition.

The plucky teenager is once again pushing herself to the limit by competing in all five alpine disciplines, which is the same gruelling schedule she successfully tackled 12 months ago when she represented Australia at her first Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Finishing in the 20s of a 46-woman draw boasting the world’s best alpine racers is a definite sign that the 19-year-old is making steady progress towards achieving her goal of becoming an elite athlete.

The event was won by Austrian Anna Fenninger, who becomes the first reigning Olympic Winter Games gold medallist to win a Super G World Championships title.

Slovakia’s defending World Champion Tina Maze picked up the silver medal while hometown hero Lindsey Vonn added a bronze to her collection of two previous World Championships titles and Olympic Winter Games gold.

Men’s Super G

Last Friday, Sam Roberston kicked off the Aussie male athlete’s campaign with a solid 36th in the Super G.

Robertson,21, said he was rapt with the result, particularly when it is compared with his 55th place in the 2013 World Ski Championships  in Schladming, Austria.

Robertson’s run was impressive right from the start gate, skiing the top sector, the steepest, iciest and most technical section, with conviction.

A tactical error just before the Screech Owl jump pushed him off line and into soft snow, with the loss precious speed slowing him through the middle flats before the Golden Eagle jump.

Robertson stopped the clock 3.61 seconds slower than gold medallist Hannes Reichelt from Austria while Canada’s Dustin Cook took home the silver and Frenchman Adrien Theaux finished with the bronze.

The Australian said last Friday that it was one of the best runs of his career.

“I’m super stoked, Robertson said.

“I was nervous in the start but I had one of the best runs of my life and it hasn't really sunk in yet.

“I'm really looking forward to what's ahead.

“A massive thank you to all the coaches I've worked with in the past few years, the Thredbo Ski Racing Club, Thredbo resort, my team mates, Mum and Dad, my sponsors and everyone who has supported me to get here. It wouldn't have been possible otherwise.”

Women’s Downhill

Over the weekend Greta Small finished in 33rd place in the Downhill. Her time was 6.08 seconds behind the winning Slovakian Tina Maze. Austrian Anna Fenninger pocketed the silver medal in a gripping final.

Small experienced difficulties with the bumpy course and was hoping for a higher placing, however, she was pleased that the final showed that she is skiing better compared with the start of the Championships and is able to execute her race plan well.

Looking Ahead

Small continues her campaign when she tackles the Combined tomorrow (Tuesday, Australian time).

Small starts the event inside the top 15, thanks to an impressive 15th place at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games 12 months ago, which has contributed to a career high world ranking.

Added to her confidence, Small trained brilliantly yesterday.

In yesterday’s last official Downhill training session before the Combined, Small clearly showed why she is regarded as a skier headed towards the top echelon.

Small’s time on the Downhill course placed her in 17th position for the session, her best run of the week, just 3.68 seconds shy of Switzerland's Lara Gut, who finished on the podium in the Downhill event two days ago.

The momentum continued today with Small training on the Slalom course with Italians Elena Curtoni, Francesca Marsaglia, Johanna Schnarf and Elena Fanchini in preparation for the Combined and she impressed with a time that was less than half a second behind the fastest Italian.

With the confidence provided from strong training, starting in the top 15 and a strong tactical plan, Small is aiming to at least replicate her Sochi heroics in the Combined final.

Looking further ahead, Small joins fellow Aussie Lavinia Chrystal in the Giant Slalom on Friday (Australian time).

The Women’s Giant Slalom will also share the limelight with the men’s Giant Slalom qualification session.

Four Australians – Dominic Demschar, Luke Laidlaw, Ross Peraudo and Luc Chevalier – are chasing a position in Saturday’s final.

All four of the Aussie men are capable of finishing in the required top 25 places for the final, provided they ski to their potential.

Laidlaw, Chevalier and Peraudo have been training on the qualification hill this week, while Demschar is expected to arrive at the resort today (Monday Australian time).

Image: Greta Small at the World Championships

Small kick-starts Australia’s Alpine World Championship campaign

4/2/2015

 
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Greta Small of Australia races during the Ladies' Super-G on the Raptor racecourse on Day 2 of the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships on February 3, 2015 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Credit:(February 2, 2015 - Source: Al Bello/Getty Images North America
 
Mount Hotham’s Greta Small kicked off her FIS World Ski Championships campaign with a solid 29th place in the Super G in Vail-Beaver Creek, USA, overnight (Australian time) on day one of competition.

The plucky teenager is once again pushing herself to the limit by competing in all five alpine disciplines, which is the same gruelling schedule she successfully tackled 12 months ago when she represented Australia at her first Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Finishing in the 20s of a 46-woman draw boasting the world’s best alpine racers is a definite sign that the 19-year-old is making steady progress towards achieving her goal of becoming an elite athlete.

The event was won by Austrian Anna Fenninger, who becomes the first reigning Olympic Winter Games gold medallist to win a Super G World Championships title.

Slovakia’s defending World Champion Tina Maze picked up the silver medal while hometown hero Lindsey Vonn added a bronze to her collection of two previous World Championships titles and Olympic Winter Games gold.

The Women’s Super G athletes had to contend with about 10cm of fresh overnight snow and strong winds, which forced organisers to temporarily halt proceedings several  times throughout the event and alter the position of the start five gates down the 1840 metre course.

With more snow forecast overnight, organisers have already cancelled tomorrow’s women’s downhill training session, allowing officials to focus entirely on completing the men’s Super G.

Small is one of nine Australians competing at the Championships, which run through till February 15.

Sam Robertson will be the sole Australian competitor on day 2 in the men’s Super G.

Robertson goes into the event with the benefit of extended training on the Vail Super G course, where he has shown strong form with times only half a second behind Austria’s 2011 Super G World Championships silver medallist Hannes Reichelt.

Other members of the Australian team are Luc-Henri Chevalier (Giant Slalom), Lavinia Chrystal (Giant Slalom and Slalom), Daniel Demschar (Slalom), Domoinic Demschar (Giant Slalom), Luke Laidlaw (Giant Slalom and Slalom), Ross Peraudo (Giant Slalom and Slalom) and Mike Rishworth (Slalom).


Alpine Skiing World Championships commence this week

2/2/2015

 
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The Colorado resorts of Vail & Beaver Creek will play host to the Alpine Skiing World Championships, which commence this week on Tuesday USA time.

Australia has a large team competing at the event, with nine athletes entered.

2014 Olympian Greta Small will again compete in all disciplines, as she did in Sochi, highlighted by a 15th place performance in the combined event.

Athletes
Luc-Henri Chevalier - Giant Slalom
Lavinia Chrystal - Giant Slalom, Slalom
Daniel Demschar - Slalom
Dominic Demschar - Giant Slalom
Luke Laidlaw - Giant Slalom, Slalom
Ross Peraudo - Giant Slalom, Slalom
Mike Rishworth - Slalom
Sam Robertson - Super-G
Greta Small - Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Alpine Combined

Event Schedule
Note: Eurosport are broadcasting extensive coverage of the Alpine World Championships
Click here for the TV Schedule

03.02.2015  - Super G - Ladies
04.02.2015  - Super G - Mens
06.02.2015  - Downhill - Ladies
07.02.2015  - Downhill - Mens
08.02.2015  - Alpine combined - Mens
09.02.2015  - Alpine combined - Ladies
12.02.2015  - Giant Slalom - Ladies
13.02.2015  - Giant Slalom - Mens
14.02.2015  - Slalom - Ladies
15.02.2015  - Slalom - Mens

IMAGE: Greta Small in Sochi  © Steve Cuff

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