OWIA/NSWIS athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim enjoyed her best result of the season when she made the consolation final of the ski cross World Cup in Arosa, Switzerland.
The 26-year-old, who qualified for the quarter finals in 12th spot, ended the day, which is the first of six races in three weeks, in eighth overall.
Switzerland’s Fanny Smith won on home snow, with Sweden’s Anna Holmlund and Frenchwoman Ophelie David taking second and third respectively .
In the men’s draw Australia’s Anton Grimus once again showed his potential by setting the fastest time in a highly competitive qualification session, which saw the top 20 skiers separated by less than a second.
Grimus finished the day in 17th overall, behind Sweden’s gold medallist Victor Oehling Norberg, Russia’s Sergy Ridzik in second and France’s Bastien Midol in the third podium position.
Grimus said he “got caught up in the start a bit”, a pivotal element of racing on the Arosa course.
“Two guys pinched me in so I tried to make a pass but it wasn’t to be today. I’ve got to look forward to tomorrow,”Grimus said
Coach Shawn Fleming said that “his time will eventually come.”
“Anton was fast all week,” Fleming said. “He was first in training, he was first in qualy and fourth in the second qualy (for tomorrow’s next round of the World Cup) and he ran a practice run this morning with the current World Champion and handily won by five to 10 ski lengths.
“His time was the fastest of the morning’s training.
“He has the speed and we believe we have a good process in what we are doing.
“He wants to be there in a final and that’s what he is skiing for and to go out in the first round is a tough one.
“The nice thing about having these double races is that you get a bit of a second chance in a sense. Maybe we can go in and work on that mindset at the start and get a better result.
“We’ll switch it up a little and maybe we can do something tomorrow.”
Fleming said that Grimus’s reaction time in the final was a “bit off” getting out of the gate and by the time the four athletes reached the first turn, he was in third place by a margin of between a half to a ski length, behind Midol and Swiss skier Jonas Lennher.
The experience of the French and Swiss skiers ensured a mistake free run, shutting the door on Grimus making a move for one of the two places that would progress to the quarters.
Kennedy-Sim finished in second place of her quarter final, advancing to the semis.
Unfortunately Kennedy-Sim drew an inside gate which is not an advantage on the Arosa course.
She was third after the field settled into the race and despite throwing everything at her rivals, it was a position she was unable to improve upon.
Finishing the semi in fourth place meant that she did not qualify for the final.
In the consolation final, Kennedy-Sim grabbed an early lead thanks to a strong start and protected her margin through the top half.
However, she then took a slightly different line through a turn and opened a small opportunity for Austria’s Katrin Ofner who pushed the Australian back to second.
Kennedy-Sim also lost speed going into a relatively flat traverse section, which enabled France’s Alizee Baron and Poland’s Karolina Riemen to overtake the Australian as the four women approached the finish line.
“I’m moving in the right direction and looking forward to tomorrow to crack that big final,” Kennedy-Sim said.
Fleming said he was optimistic about Kennedy-Sim’s prospects for tomorrow
“The numbers are moving in the direction that we want. She is definitely hungry for more and today gave her a glimpse that cleaning up one or two things and all of a sudden you are talking about getting into the final,” he said.
IMAGE: Sami Kennedy-Sim racing in Arosa
The 26-year-old, who qualified for the quarter finals in 12th spot, ended the day, which is the first of six races in three weeks, in eighth overall.
Switzerland’s Fanny Smith won on home snow, with Sweden’s Anna Holmlund and Frenchwoman Ophelie David taking second and third respectively .
In the men’s draw Australia’s Anton Grimus once again showed his potential by setting the fastest time in a highly competitive qualification session, which saw the top 20 skiers separated by less than a second.
Grimus finished the day in 17th overall, behind Sweden’s gold medallist Victor Oehling Norberg, Russia’s Sergy Ridzik in second and France’s Bastien Midol in the third podium position.
Grimus said he “got caught up in the start a bit”, a pivotal element of racing on the Arosa course.
“Two guys pinched me in so I tried to make a pass but it wasn’t to be today. I’ve got to look forward to tomorrow,”Grimus said
Coach Shawn Fleming said that “his time will eventually come.”
“Anton was fast all week,” Fleming said. “He was first in training, he was first in qualy and fourth in the second qualy (for tomorrow’s next round of the World Cup) and he ran a practice run this morning with the current World Champion and handily won by five to 10 ski lengths.
“His time was the fastest of the morning’s training.
“He has the speed and we believe we have a good process in what we are doing.
“He wants to be there in a final and that’s what he is skiing for and to go out in the first round is a tough one.
“The nice thing about having these double races is that you get a bit of a second chance in a sense. Maybe we can go in and work on that mindset at the start and get a better result.
“We’ll switch it up a little and maybe we can do something tomorrow.”
Fleming said that Grimus’s reaction time in the final was a “bit off” getting out of the gate and by the time the four athletes reached the first turn, he was in third place by a margin of between a half to a ski length, behind Midol and Swiss skier Jonas Lennher.
The experience of the French and Swiss skiers ensured a mistake free run, shutting the door on Grimus making a move for one of the two places that would progress to the quarters.
Kennedy-Sim finished in second place of her quarter final, advancing to the semis.
Unfortunately Kennedy-Sim drew an inside gate which is not an advantage on the Arosa course.
She was third after the field settled into the race and despite throwing everything at her rivals, it was a position she was unable to improve upon.
Finishing the semi in fourth place meant that she did not qualify for the final.
In the consolation final, Kennedy-Sim grabbed an early lead thanks to a strong start and protected her margin through the top half.
However, she then took a slightly different line through a turn and opened a small opportunity for Austria’s Katrin Ofner who pushed the Australian back to second.
Kennedy-Sim also lost speed going into a relatively flat traverse section, which enabled France’s Alizee Baron and Poland’s Karolina Riemen to overtake the Australian as the four women approached the finish line.
“I’m moving in the right direction and looking forward to tomorrow to crack that big final,” Kennedy-Sim said.
Fleming said he was optimistic about Kennedy-Sim’s prospects for tomorrow
“The numbers are moving in the direction that we want. She is definitely hungry for more and today gave her a glimpse that cleaning up one or two things and all of a sudden you are talking about getting into the final,” he said.
IMAGE: Sami Kennedy-Sim racing in Arosa
RSS Feed
