The Men's Giant Slalom kicked off the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season this weekend in Soelden, Austria. Harry Laidlaw proudly represented Australia in an event typically dominated by European and Scandinavian athletes.

The 26-year-old has spent the majority of his time training with his Austrian-based Global Racing team in the northern hemisphere in the run-up to the season opener. 

“My domestic season went really well, I spent most of the southern season in Europe as my team Global Racing is based over here. We were a little nervous at the beginning with how little snow the glaciers had but in the end, we were super lucky with the conditions," Laidlaw said.

“This year I was lucky enough to get more support from my main sponsor Volkl with factory service which has been huge with getting the equipment called for the season.”

For those who wonder why Australian professional alpine skiers prefer to train in the northern hemisphere rather than the southern, Laidlaw compares it to how Australians love their NRL and AFL.

“Training and racing in Austria is a whole different type of energy, the best way to explain it would be like playing AFL or NRL in their major cities," he said "It's their main sport so there is more excitement and enthusiasm around alpine skiing.”

Laidlaw put down a clean first run in Soelden, finishing with a time of 1.03.21 to place 42nd in the World Cup opener, his second best FIS World Cup result. Marco Odermatt of Switzerland won the gold, ahead of Slovenia's Zan Kranjec in second and Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen in third.

Heading into a new season, Laidlaw is encouraged by his new world ranking of 31st which he achieved last season. Furthermore, the alpine skier has won three consecutive North American Cup victories, making him the first Australian Alpine skier to do so.

“Winning back-to-back Norams gives me a lot of confidence going into this season, I've figured out my race day mindset and the headspace I need to be in to do well.”

Looking at the rest of the World cup season ahead Laidlaw has set his sights on moving up the world rankings.

“My goal is to be a real competitor in the World Cup, to be ranked within the top 30 and build off that.”

See all FIS Alpine Soeldon World Cup results HERE

The next FIS World Cup event for the men will be held at Lech / Zuers Austria on the 12th & 13th of November. See the full calendar HERE

Source: snow.org.au

IMAGE - Harry Laidlaw Instagram

National Careers Week is an initiative of the Career Industry Council of Australia and aims to celebrate careers, career development, career development services, and career development practitioners and to promote the economic, social and personal benefits of career development.
 
Career development is a process of managing learning, work and leisure to progress through life. It includes gaining and using the skills and knowledge needed to plan and make informed decisions about education, training, and work. Everyday decisions and priorities affect career development.
 
Athletes are encouraged to explore their education and career options, with several great events happening around the country during National Careers Week from May 16 – 22.
 
The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) caught up with 2022 Olympic Skeleton silver medallist Jackie Narracott to discuss the benefits of having a healthy sport/life balance when you are an elite athlete.
 
Narracott is a great example of successfully managing both areas, with her incredible 2021-2022 season which included the first ever World Cup victory and Olympic medal in Skeleton for Australia, combined with her progress in a career in Interior Design.

What is your occupation, and/or career aspirations outside of sport?
Once I finish sliding I would love to be an Interior Designer, possibly with my own business one day.
 
When I left school I did a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science as I saw myself as an athlete and therefore that was the career path I thought I had to take.
 
When Covid hit, it gave me the opportunity to revaluate and properly begin working on my career path post sliding because I'd like to be prepared for when the time comes.
 
Initially, I looked at all the 'typical' options for a sports loving athlete- Dietitian (cheers Ali for all the advice), Sports Massage etc but eventually took a chance on a Diploma of Interior Design. When I told my sprint coach his response was 'about time!'. It has been the best decision as it's enabled me to discover another part of myself that had definitely been buried over the years.
 
Right now I'm trying to find a job anywhere in the industry to gain experience and get a handle on exactly what the day to day life of an Interior Designer is like. I'm also helping friends redesign their places which I'm absolutely loving!
 
How important is it for elite athletes to balance their careers and sport? How do you maintain work/study while on tour competing?
I think it’s incredibly important to have balance between developing a post sport career and sport. For me, it took the pressure off a bit as I knew I had something else to go to should something happen or things not go to plan. It also gave me something else to focus on during the day. Covid has made studying on tour a lot easier!
 
A World Cup week over the last 2 seasons has been day on/day off instead of several days in a row which meant I had a lot more time on my hands to schedule study in.
 
In a normal year I think it would've been harder but instead of entire days dedicated to study it would've been an hour or so each day, while making sure I was getting enough recovery in. I found it was a great way to switch off from sliding.
 
What are some of the skills you have developed through your career and or/education that are transferable to your sport?
The key ones are probably adaptability and problem solving. Both are incredibly important for both Interior Design and Skeleton and they've both helped each other.
 
Do you find having a dual career improves your performance on ice?
Having a dual career with a purpose (I've had jobs while sliding that definitely haven't helped) has massively helped my performance on ice.
 
For one thing, it's taken the pressure off a bit as I know if things don't go to plan on the ice (injury etc) then I've got a backup ready to go. It also gave me something else to focus on. While on tour that was awesome as it meant I could let the days sliding sink into my brain before analysing it. While at home, it gave me something to fill the time before training with and a much needed break from the monotony of training on my own.
 
How important are your support networks to help you balance your career and/or education?
I am very fortunate that my support network wholeheartedly backed me finding the balance and pursuing a completely different career path.
 
While I didn't take the Dietetics route in the end, OWIA Sports Dietitian Ali Miles was fantastic in giving me an insight into life as a Dietician, as was OWIA AW&E Manager Alana Rybicki in helping to figure out if I could do any study remotely from my UK base. Dom (my husband) was incredibly supportive in finding a career path I was passionate about, no matter what that was. I'm unsure if he's still keen on my decision now that I want to change things around the house constantly!
 
My coaches and sports psych were also incredibly supportive, probably because they were relieved, I finally had something else to focus on besides training.

Many thanks to Jackie Narracott for sharing her career development journey with us this National Careers Week, we love to see our Winter Sport athletes learning and thriving during their time in high-performance sport.

You can follow Jackie’s journey on Instagram and Facebook.

Competing in her sixth World Championships, two time Olympian Kailani Craine has finished in 22nd place in Montpellier, France.

Craine advanced to the free skate in 22nd place, after scoring 56.64 points in the short program.

In the free skate, she received a score of 105.11 from the judges, giving her a total score of 161.75, and remained in 22nd for her final ranking.

Also representing Australian in Montpellier, were the ice dance couple of Holly Harris and Jason Chan.

Harris and Chan recorded a World Championship personal best finish of 18th place, after scoring 64.91 in the rhythm dance and 95.01 in the free dance,giving them a total score of 159.92 points.

It was a case of ecstasy and agony for Bree Walker and Kiara Reddingius at the Yanqing ‘Dragon' track, laying down a scintillating run to jump into top-10 contention before a challenging final run saw them finish 16th in the two-woman bobsleigh.

Entering the night in 12th after the first two of four runs completed yesterday, the pair laid down a 1:02.04 in run three to jump into 11th, within striking distance of a top-10 finish.

However, a difficult fourth run saw a 1:02.51 time for the duo to finish with a combined time of 4.08.64 in 16th.

The event was dominated by Germany, who took out gold and silver, with USA winning bronze. The winning pair of Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi finished well clear of the pack, more than 1.5 seconds ahead of bronze and 4.68 seconds ahead of the Australian duo.

The Australian pair's finish is just short of Astrid Loch-Wilkinson and Kylie Reed's 14th at Torino 2006, Australia's best ever result in the discipline. The full body of Bree and Kiara's four runs show the pair finished less than half a second outside the top 10.

While disappointed at their final run, the pair were proud of their campaign to take on the giants of the bobsleigh world.

"I don't have words for how I'm feeling yet, I'm still comprehending what has happened," Bree said. "It's been a huge campaign but I'm so grateful for our team, we've worked so hard.

"I really wanted to fix up a few mistakes I had been making all week and I think that last run I wanted it too bad.

"We couldn't have made it here or achieved what we have on our own, I'm so grateful for the team. We're all pretty much freshies, on our first Olympics, out here having a crack and making it happen."

Bree was excited to head back to Australia after more than two years away from friends and family chasing her bobsleigh dream in Europe and North America.

"We're going to head home and come down from this whole experience. I'm so excited to see my family, it's been two and a half years, I can't wait to give you all a hug."

Brakewoman Kiara, who only paired with Bree for the first-time last year, paid tribute to the work the team had put in to make their debut Olympics.

"I'm really proud of how we've done this whole campaign," the West Australian said. "This is our first Olympics and just our fourth race together.

"The thing I really like about Bree is she's willing to risk it, she's willing to chuck herself out there to find the fast lines. It might not have worked out in that final run, but we gave every single part of ourselves to this experience and this journey, you can't be more proud or happy with that.

"I'm honoured to slide with Bree and be part of this team. It's been a really long season for us, we've been away from Australia for so long."

While they would have liked to have been better in their final run, they know that doesn't define the next four years as they continue to grow and challenge the traditional sliding heavyweights.

"I love the sport and everything about it," Kiara said.

"If we can get some support behind us, it's a big campaign, I'm going to try my best to really pump it up for the future."

And after achieving Australia's best ever Olympic bobsleigh result with fifth in the monobob, and achieving 16th after just their first season together, the future is looking very bright for Australian women's bobsleigh.

olympics.com.au
Dominic Sullivan

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

It was a tough day on the ice for Kailani Craine, but the Newcastle skater put on a brave performance despite an early error.
 
The two-time Olympian looked calm and confident as her music started, but pulled out of her opening triple lutz - only rotating twice to execute a double jump.

"I was in shock, I don't know what happened. I'm still trying to process it," Kailani said.

"That's so uncharacteristic of me and it shook me a bit. It felt like I picked too heavy on the takeoff and didn't run my edge."

But in a remarkable show of courage the 23-year-old rallied quickly, completing a triple-triple combination and a double axel.

"I was really proud of myself for getting straight back into the program and feeling really present in the music, it felt really emotional and I gave it my best.

"The hardest part is knowing that I can do so much better than that, and I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone.

"I felt like I had the most support I've ever had from people back home and it hurts that I couldn't deliver for everyone."

Her short program score of 49.93 was not high enough to proceed to the free skate on Thursday.

Despite an early end to her Beijing schedule, it's not the end of the road for the talented figure skater - who will return to competition for the World Championships in March.

"I'm determined to come back stronger from this. Right now it hurts, but once I have time to process it I'm going to learn from my mistakes and be better."

olympics.com.au
Katherine Firkin

Bree Walker has cemented Australia's best ever Olympic bobsleigh result, as she jumped up the leaderboard to finish fifth after a pulsating final day of racing in the women's monobob.

From yesterday sitting tenth after her first run and seventh after her second, Bree came out firing to put down the second fastest times in both runs three and four to jump into fifth overall.

Bree gave herself every opportunity to continue to climb the rankings, notching 1:04.16 in run three to jump to fifth, and 1:05.21 in run four which showed she is in the top echelon of monobob pilots.

The USA took out the gold-silver quinella with Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor, while Canada's Christine de Bruin in third was just 0.43 of a second ahead of Bree's overall time of 4:21.26.

After missing out on PyeongChang 2018, Bree was ecstatic to keep her promise to not only qualify for Beijing 2022, but to mix it with the best in the world.

"I'm so proud to achieve our best ever result in Olympic bobsled," Bree said post-race.

"You can never count an Aussie out, I fought back today. The girls who are out there are the best pilots in the world, to be fifth in the world behind them at my first Olympics, I'm so happy.

"Four years ago I was on the sidelines at the Olympics and now I'm fifth, in a highlight event where I'm a proper competitor, challenging those girls who I watched four years ago. It's worth all the effort.

"I wanted to be able to show people at home and around the world. If you want something hard enough you can go out and make it happen."

Bree's finish means the Australian Team has now notched its best ever Olympic results in each of the sliding disciplines – which is a combination of Bree's fifth, Jackie Narracott's skeleton silver and Alex Ferlazzo's 16th in luge.

Bree will now join teammate Kiara Reddingius in the two-woman bobsleigh, with training runs starting tomorrow before the first day of competition on Friday 18 February.

olympics.com.au
Dominic Sullivan

Bree Walker opened her Olympic monobob campaign in style, sitting in seventh position after the first two of four runs.

With the sport making its Olympic debut, the 20 competitors took to the track in tough conditions, with dumping snow and much colder conditions than during the three days of training ensuring athletes had to adapt to the new ice conditions.

Bree started with a 1:05.55 to sit tenth after her first run, with a number of wall touches in the top section robbing her of her top speed.

As conditions toughened, Bree put down an almost identical 1:05.54 in the second run. Several of her rivals struggled to maintain their speed in the tougher conditions, and Bree jumped up three spots to sit seventh.

Bree is 1.99 seconds behind leader Kaillie Humphries of the USA and 0.77 behind current bronze positioned slider Laura Nolte of Germany.

Bree said she was happy with her improvements and is focused on putting herself in the mix in tomorrow's final runs.

"I'm not making it easy for myself that's for sure, but I'm a fighter and will keep climbing back up the tally board," Bree said.

"The track was colder today, with harder ice, but I don't think it affected our results. I need to focus on what I need to do in my process.

"I know I can continue to be consistent and clean up my runs. I was really happy with the second run in general. I need to go and replicate that tomorrow.

"I've worked really hard to be here, I'm so proud to be here [for] the first time monobob has been at the Olympics."

The 29-year-old will hit the track tomorrow at 12:30pm AEDT for her third and fourth runs, with medals decided on combined times after the fourth run.

olympics.com.au
Dominic Sullivan

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

Sporting history has been made in the women's skeleton thanks to an incredible silver-medal performance from Jackie Narracott, who has won the first ever sliding sport medal for Australia at an Olympic Games.

In one of the most terrifying and daring sports at the Olympics, Jackie showed nerves of steel over the two days of competition to make Australia proud in a performance for the ages.

An achievement 10 years in the making for Jackie, she started the second night of her competition with a run that was almost textbook perfect. It began with a stunning push start in just 5.27 seconds and Jackie was looking composed on the first few turns, in clear control of her sled and the aerodynamics as she began to pick up speed.

A little battle out of corner four and into five didn't seem to faze the sliding sensation, as she quickly recovered and reached a top speed of 126.8km/h.

Jackie completed her run in record time (1:01.79), setting a new track record at the time on the ‘Dragon' course which helped her overall time (3:06.13). That third run was good enough for Jackie to hold the silver medal position entering everyone's fourth and final run.

Germany's Hannah Neise, who won the gold, followed Jackie's third run by eclipsing her track record with a time of 1:01.44 to bring her overall time to a leading 3:05.99.

There was just 0.14 seconds between the two athletes and an incredibly tight top seven, which all set up for a tight finish for the medals.

The order of competitors on the fourth and final run was adjusted to have the fastest athletes take their turn last, which meant there was an agonising 90-minute build up for Jackie.

Jackie had the second last run of the competition, and with ice in her veins she put herself in prime position to slide into history.

With a strong start, something consistent across all of her performances, Jackie flew down the track in perfect control. A sliding hero before she even stepped onto the track for her last shot at the medals, Jackie's incredible driving of her sled led to another fast time of 1:02.11 which gave her an overall time of 4:08.24.

Overcome with emotion, Jackie's performance guaranteed herself a medal. The skeleton superstar secured a silver medal for not just her home state of Queensland, but all of Australia.

When Jackie was asked about her performance, she said she had hoped for her best on the day.

"I think coming in [before winning gold at Saint Moritz in January] I would have been happy with top ten." Jackie said.

"After my Saint Moritz result, I knew it was a possibility [for a medal] but our field of competitors is ridiculous so to come out with this is pretty incredible.

"I don't think you can [describe the feeling of winning an Olympic medal]. It's just everything I've dreamt of. It's going to take a while for everything to sink in."

It was a performance that shocked the Skeleton world. The historic achievement is even more incredible give it was only a few years ago a severe concussion left Jackie unsure if she would ever drive a car again, let alone a skeleton sled to win an Olympic silver medal.

he credits Dom Parsons who is her husband, coach and an Olympic medallist for playing a vital role in the comeback.

"It's so nice to share this with him. To have him by my side and have me calm is just the best."

"It's everything to me to finally get here, and to finally do this is unbelievable.

"I can't wait to see family at the airport and put this around their neck. We did it.

"I would love this to be catalyst for more girls to get into this sport."

With a face of elation, tears of joy, a huge smile and a silver medal - it was a moment that Jackie and an entire nation will never forget.

olympics.com.au
Shannon Knaus

Jackie Narracott has taught the Yanqing dragon to breathe fire.

She narrowly missed the top spot in her first run by +0.02 of a second but her next run was phenomenal, sliding her into the top spot by a significant 0.21 margin, throwing down the gauntlet to her rivals in a stunning display of sledding.

The 31-year-old from Brisbane is loving the track and says she can get even more speed as she heads to the finals.

"I am stoked. There's more in both of those runs but I don't care, it's just so much fun," Jackie exclaimed. "I was just calm and fun and I did everything I needed to do to come down with my record which is unreal.

"Then to be sitting in first is more than I could have hoped for. To be actually siting here is pretty cool. This field is ridiculously competitive and to be sitting on top of it is phenomenal.

"It was always going to be a good race and I knew that if I put down two runs, calm and composed, I knew I was going to be in the mix. But that still doesn't make it any less exciting to be sitting in number one."

Jackie's dominance in her opening campaign is tipped to draw more attention to both her and the sport. She spoke about what this means to her heading into tomorrow's final.

"Hopefully this will get more girls inspired to give it a shot.

"It would be absolutely unreal if we actually got some more girls back into skeleton.

In January, Jackie won her first World Cup at Saint Moritz in Switzerland and became Australia's first ever World Cup gold medallist in Skeleton.

When asked about what created that turning point back in January she said "I had my husband and my coach by my side."

"Whereas all year we have been doing sessions via FaceTime and online. So, to have him here, by my side, where we can do video and work in real time and to have that support with me is huge.

"He was here at the test event for three weeks and he was at Saint Moritz for that week also."

Moving into the final, she has a cool head and wants to stay grounded.

"I try to stay in the moment, not watch too much TV, don't think too far ahead and just try to distract myself so that come 9pm tomorrow night (12am AEDT Monday), I am ready to go."

Her final preparation we be focused on ironing out any minor details and the millimetres that will make the biggest difference.

"[Tonight, I will be] going back through my runs and seeing what little tweaks we need to make and then it's just about recovery.

"First of all, just making sure my legs are ready to keep pushing fast tomorrow night and then just trying to keep my brain occupied and calm and not think too far ahead."

olympics.com.au
Jonathan Sweet

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

Last year Brendan Kerry was considering quitting skating altogether. Today he launched himself into the next round of figure skating - and into the historic books - after a blistering short program that was near-perfect.

The 27-year-old joins rare company, confirming his place as a three-time Olympian - a particularly challenging feat in Figure Skating.

"What kept me going was that I didn't really know what I wanted to do, so I continued to train and turn up to the rink," Brendan said.

"There were days that I really loved it, so I ended up going on."

But the lead-up to his third Olympics was far from smooth, and looked to be over just as quickly as it had started.

"At the end of last season my left leg was really badly injured and I had to take about three or four months off."

The injury, a result of extensive stress fractures over many years, was so significant he almost had to withdraw from the Olympic qualifier - just weeks out from the opening of the Beijing Winter Games.

"My coach came to me and said ‘we have to make a decision about intensive rehab or consider pulling out'. But I said ‘there's no way I'm missing the Olympic spot now'."

That brave decision has been well rewarded, after the Sydney-born skater produced one of the best short program skates in the men's field. His almost clean routine has seen him easily advance through to the free skate.

After a rough morning practice session, Brendan was able to get his troublesome quadruple toe loop out with only a minor issue on the landing, and nailed his triple-triple combination and triple axel.

"I'm not an overly emotional person but I'm an emotional mess right now. It's hard not to shed a tear," Brendan said.

"I've been struggling with my leg issues and being isolated from friends and family for so long, so to go out and do that just feels so special.

"If I could give a message to everyone back home, I'm beyond appreciative of all the support I've had."

The attention now turns to the free program - an exhaustive routine that's more than four minutes in length.

"All season I've done pretty consistent short programs but the long program for some reason has been inconsistent so my goal now is to go out and put a good free skate down. That's something I feel like I really need to do."

olympics.com.au
Katherine Firkin

After a dramatic return from injury, a season's best score and the "greatest skate" of his life - it's impossible to wipe the smile off Brendan Kerry's face.

The Australian figure skater overcame the most dramatic of returns from injury to succeed in the men's singles event and capped it off with a dominating free skate performance. He earned 160.01 points to smash his previous season's best score.

"I'm ecstatic, I'm over the moon. It hasn't sunk in yet," Brendan said.

"I've never been as strong on my long programs as I have been with the short, so I put a lot of pressure on myself to deliver today, and to do that means the world."

The 27-year-old had intended on performing two quadruple jumps, but only executed one of them – opting to play it safe on the other and made it a triple.

"I'm a little bit disappointed I didn't do the quad salchow and for a while after that my brain was going into overdrive trying to work out if I could add another rotation in a different jump, but in the end I just left it. I reminded myself that this is the Olympics and I've just done the best I could do."

Despite a horror run into these Games – with Brendan battling injuries that almost saw him forced to retire from the sport entirely – the three-time Olympian has managed a dream campaign which he says "couldn't have gone any better."

"To have the honour of being Flag Bearer, to walk out at the Opening Ceremony and represent my country in that way, and then to put down two of my best skates under the most incredible pressure - that's just magical. It's going to take a bit of time for it all to sink in.

"All the attention that came with being Flag Bearer did make me feel more nervous, because I was worried I wouldn't do it justice. I kept saying to people ‘but what if I skate badly and just want to hide in the corner?' And then I realised the answer was that I had no choice, I had to skate well."

As to what comes next, Brendan is most excited about getting back to Australia and spending time with his family.

"I've been away for so long now, I actually can't wait to get on a plane and get back to Sydney and celebrate with everyone back home. I want to get some sunshine and process everything that's happened, and then I can make a decision on my skating future."

Whatever happens, there's no question that he has already left a lasting legacy on the sport. His record includes three Olympics and eight national titles.

"When I'm looking back on my career I'm going to be able to say "I did three of them, and this was the best Olympics by far.

"That's something no one can take away. That's pretty special."

olympics.com.au
Katherine Firkin

Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt have finished a whirlwind final day in Beijing by knocking off Canada 10-8 in the mixed doubles curling.

They raced to a 7-0 lead against John Morris and Rachel Homan of Canada, but were forced to play a tiebreaking ninth end to put them away for good.

"In mixed doubles it's just so hard to feel safe. It's hard to keep that big lead with so much in play all the time," Tahli said.

"Sorry for giving everyone a heart attack!"

It capped off a remarkable day for the Aussie pair, as they can lay claim to defeating the PyeongChang 2018 mixed doubles gold and silver medallists just hours apart.

After seven tries, their historic first win at the Olympics came 9-6 against Switzerland. It was a wild match that the Aussie pair dictated when it mattered most to close the game on a 6-0 spurt.

They carried that form into the start of the Canada game, which increased their scoring streak to a combined 12 unanswered points.

Tahli and Dean almost faced an entirely different reality today that would have seen their two games against Switzerland and Canada be abandoned, which would have sent them home winless.

Speaking after their win over Switzerland earlier in the day, Tahli shed light on their eventful day.

"It has literally been the craziest, craziest 24 hours. My bags are still packed, I only just had time to pull out my uniforms," Tahli said.

"I was ruffling through my bags and ripping clothes out left, right and centre. I played with only one glove on - and it was the wrong one."

Dean had a similar experience, as they thought their Olympic campaign had been cut short.

"It was just crazy, mayhem, getting the uniforms on. The excitement in the (hotel) room was unbelievable," Dean said.

"It was so exciting to be able to get back out on the ice and play these last two games."

"It's one of those things where you don't realise what you've got until it's gone. Once we heard that we could actually play again, it made it extra special for us.

"We were like, ‘Let's embrace the Olympics, embrace what we have and be grateful for it'. Because it's something that can be taken away from you in a moment's notice.

He was taken aback by the reception they received at The Ice Cube.

"It's incredible. You walk out there onto the ice and nearly everyone comes up to you and says, ‘We're so happy that you're out here'. It just shows the camaraderie between curlers here."

The win against Canada carried more significance than most other matches for Tahli and Dean. They were directly competing against Canada's John Morris on the ice, who up until the Games started had been coaching them to qualify for the Olympics.

Morris is a dual Olympic gold medallist that needed to beat the Australians to feature in the mixed doubles semi-finals.

Playing with a weight off their shoulders, Tahli and Dean picked up three points in the opening end against the Canadians. They continued to overwhelm Canada in the second end, stealing two points in the round to give them a perfect start. Canada, desperate for an answer, used up their powerplay but to no avail as Australia stole another point.

Tahli, 22, was the youngest mixed doubles competitor in Beijing and Dean is only 27. The Beijing 2022 Games will be a great experience for them to build on, as their desire to compete at the Olympics has only gotten stronger.

"We came here to win as many games as we could. Unfortunately at the start of the week we couldn't quite make the extra half shot to win those games," Dean said.

Tahli added, "We're leaving the Olympics so proud.

"If anything, this whole experience has just made me and Dean so much more motivated. We're just going to knuckle down as soon as we get home and we're not going to stop until we're here again in the next four years."

Australia finished their round robin matches with a record of 2-7. On four occasions they only lost by a single point. In the space of five days they have inspired a nation to fall in love with Curling.

olympics.com.au
Jeff Dickinson-Fox

In an Australian Olympic first Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt have recorded Australia's maiden curling win with a 9-6 triumph over Switzerland.

It was a wild match with constant momentum swings, but the Aussie pair dictated terms when it mattered to close the game on a 6-0 spurt.

"We put our hearts and souls into that game, to be able to come back with the win was really awesome," Tahli said.

The match nearly didn't go ahead, but much to the delight of Tahli and Dean they were given the green light to round out their Olympic campaign.

"I was ruffling through my bags and ripping clothes out left, right and centre. I played with only one glove on - and it was the wrong one," Tahli said.

"It was just crazy, mayhem, getting the uniforms on," Dean said.

"The excitement in the (hotel) room was unbelievable. It was so exciting to be able to get back out on the ice and play these last two games."

Key to the pair's success was the points they stole on Switzerland's hammer (an end where a team has the last stone to throw), as they grabbed four points with those opportunities.

Trailing 3-6 in the sixth round, Australia activated their powerplay and Tahli delivered a gem to finish the end.

The Swiss held a two-stone advantage with just Tahli's stone to come, and she caused a domino effect with Switzerland's scoring stones which cleared the way for a three-point advantage of Australia's own - a move that would have sent the Gill and Hewitt families into hysterics.

"We knew once we took the powerplay that we could push really hard for that three and stay right in the game, so making that shot it felt really good and we were finally able to get back in that game," Tahli said.

Switzerland took their powerplay in the seventh end and it finished in disaster for them, as Australia stole two points to regain the lead for good.

"No.1, to win in the Olympics is amazing, and No.2, under the circumstances, I think the resilience that we showed and just the pure passion coming out from us during that game - that's what we're all about," Dean said.

"I'm just so proud of Tahli being [able] to step up in that game, because I don't know how I would have been able to get through it myself."

Despite the interrupted preparation for the game, Dean's accuracy was a big reason the pair got off to a 3-0 lead after two ends.

Switzerland responded with six-straight points but they lost their rhythm and didn't recover.

Tahli and Dean will take to the ice one final time in Beijing for a match against Canada, beginning at 11:05pm AEDT on Channel 7 and 7plus.

The Canadian side has a familiar face for Australia in that of John Morris.

Morris, a 43-year-old who won bronze in the mixed doubles at PyeongChang 2018, will compete as an athlete and has been an influential coach for Tahli and Dean in their efforts to qualify for an Olympic debut.

olympics.com.au
Jeff Dickinson-Fox

Jackie Narracott has created history to become the first Australian to win a World Cup gold medal in Skeleton, or any sliding sport, emerging victorious with a miracle on ice performance in St Moritz, Switzerland.
 
Competing on the spectacular hand cut ice on the natural St Moritz track, the 2018 Olympian had an amazing first run breaking the track record with a time of 1:08.72 seconds to shock the field.
 
With nerves of steel as the final competitor in the second run, Narracott put down another amazing performance with the second fastest run of the round to cross the line in first place with a two run combined time of 2:17.56 seconds, 0.06 seconds ahead of second place finisher and new World Cup champion Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands, with Mirela Rahneva of Canada 0.66 seconds behind Narracott in third.
 
“I knew today I had the potential to go fast but didn’t think quite that fast” said the 31-year-from Queensland.
 
“This has been going for so long, I’m just like there are no words, it’s a perfect day in a perfect place.”
 
“I really hope this might be the catalyst to get a few more girls in the sport and hopefully some more funding so we can have a coach and be competitive. We are proving this year that we have the athletes, it’s just having the foundations behind us to give us a chance.”
 
The breakthrough win smashes Narracott’s previous personal best World Cup finish of seventh place, which she achieved in Lake Placid, USA, in 2016.
 
Narracott will now return to her overseas base in the United Kingdom to prepare for the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

Bree Walker has continued her successful season in monobob, with a silver medal performance in Winterberg, Germany.
 
The podium performance for Walker is her fifth of the season and sees her move into second place on the world standings.
 
Monobob is set to make its debut at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, with Walker regarded as one of the leading athletes in the event.
 
The 29-year-old from Queensland was in second place after the first run, despite crashing on the last corner and sliding across the finish line on her side.
 
It is not uncommon for sleds to go down on the last corner in Winterberg, with it often referred to as the victory roll due to its close proximity to the finish line.
 
In the second and final run, Walker showed she was impacted by the previous run, recording the fastest time of the round finishing just 0.17 seconds behind first place with a two run combined time of 1:58.93 seconds.
 
The event was won by American Elana Meyers Taylor with a time of 1:58.76, with German Laura Nolte in third with a time of 1:59.01.
 
“I am really satisfied with what I have been able to produce so far this season in the monobob” ,said Walker after extending her podium streak to five straight events.
 
“I am really proud of how I have been able to put together races and continually be on the podium, so I hope I can continue to produce good results like this heading into the next weeks monobob race in in St Moritz and then also at the Olympic Winter Games.”
 
“A very exciting time but it isn’t over yet.”

Walker teamed up with brakewoman Kiara Reddingius to compete in the two-woman bobsleigh the following day, recording an eighth place performance, her second top-10 World Cup performance of the season.
 
Also in action for Australia in the Europe Cup series in Innsbruck, Austria, was Ashleigh Werner, who took home a silver and bronze medal in the monobob world series events and teamed up with brakewoman Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr to finish in fourth place in the two-woman bobsleigh.

In the skeleton World Cup event in Winterberg, Jacqui Narracott had one of her best results of the season, finishing in 11th place.

"Finally a decent result. 11th with the fourth fastest run of heat two is a pretty good way to start 2022, said the 2018 Olympian.
 
The Australian bobsleigh and skeleton athlete will compete next weekend at the final World Cup of the season in St Moritz, Switzerland. 

Aussie Bobsledder Bree Walker has continued her great form in Monobob, claiming her third podium of the season with a silver medal at the IBSF World Series event in Sigulda, Latvia.
 
Walker's trademark electric start was on display again as she shattered the track's previous start record. Despite some small driving difficulties in her 2nd heat, Walker held on for the silver medal spot, 0.02 seconds ahead of Nadezhda Sergeeva of Russia in third place and 0.56 seconds behind Canadian Christine de Bruin who took home the gold medal.
 
“Starting 2022 with second place in Sigulda Monobob World Series”, said the 29-year-old from Queensland.

“Very happy to start the new year off with another podium!
 
“Thank you so much to my team, family, friends and sponsors for all your support in 2021! Excited for what is to come in 2022.”
 
Also recording a strong performance for Australia was Ashleigh Werner who finished in sixth place, 0.8 second behind first place.
 
In the two-woman bobsleigh, Ashley Werner and brakewoman Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr teamed up for their first ever World Cup start, and were the best placed Australian’s in 12th place. The result was a personal best World Cup finish for Werner, and the World Cup debut for Toomey-Orr, who is a 5 time Crossfit Games champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist in weightlifting.
 
The team of Walker and brakewoman Kiara Reddingius were set for a top-5 run but crashed towards the end of the Sigulda track, sliding across the finishing line on their side. The pair recovered to take the second run, but unfortunately crashed again to finish in 18th place.
 
Team Walker will now head to Winterberg, Germany, for the next round of World Cup competition, with Team Werner off to Innsbruck, Austria, for a Europe Cup event.

Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill have created history, earning Australia’s first ever Olympic quota spot in Curling, after winning the Mixed Doubles Olympic Qualification Event in Leeuwarden, Netherlands overnight.
 
The pair defeated Korea 6-5 in the final to cap off an incredible tournament, with the Australian pair winning seven matches from seven to earn one of the final two Beijing 2022 quotas.
 
In the final, the Koreans jumped out to an early lead with a 4-2 advantage after the first five ends. In the sixth end, Australia called a power play, and managed to clear out Korean stones early. Gill produced a nose-hit on the only Korean stone in the house to score three points and take a 5-4 lead.
 
In the eighth and final end with scores tied at 5-5, Gill showed nerves of steel with her final throw using the backing of the one Korean stone lying in the house to draw for the one point that gave her team a 6-5 win and a place in the Olympic Games.
 
“It’s still sinking in a little bit” said the 22-year-old Gill from Brisbane.
 
“As basic as it sounds, I thought I’ve just got to throw the right split and the right line. I took a really deep breath and that was all I focussed on. I didn’t think about it being a shot to go to the Olympics or anything like that. I knew I had to throw the right line and weight.”
 
“Making that three in the power play, that turned things around a lot for us” said Hewitt, the 27-year-old from Melbourne. .
 
“It’s amazing. I called Tahli about three and half years ago and said, ‘look, do you want to make a run at these Olympics?’ We’ve been working so hard over the past few months and the past couple of years, and it’s all paid off. We’ve had so much support from home, we can’t thank them enough. We’ve been away from home for three months and two days, and we’re going straight back to Canada for a few more months.”

Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt showed nerves of steel with two great comeback wins at the mixed doubles Final Olympic Qualification tournament in Leeuwarden, Netherlands to ensure they will progress to the knockout playoff stages.

The pair started their third day of competition coming back from 6-1 down to defeat Denmark 8-7 in the final end, before scoring the last four points of the match to beat Russia 8-6 after trailing 6-4 more than halfway through the match.

After earlier tournament victories over Germany and Turkey, the duo move to four wins and no losses, ensuring they will progress to the knockout playoff stages despite still having two matches against Spain and Hungary tonight (AEST) remaining in the round robin section of the tournament.

Hewitt and Gill have shown incredible precision and calm under pressure, as they strive to earn one of the final two Beijing 2022 quotas at this tournament to become Australia's first ever Olympic curlers.

World Curling reported the Denmark pairing of Jasmin Lander and Henrik Holtermann started strongly against the Australian duo, opening with a score of two in the first end of their game. Denmark added another two points in the third end and following that up with a steal of two in the fourth when Australia's attempted tap-out did not curl, giving Denmark a 6-1 lead at the break.

Australia then called a power play in the fifth end and used it to score three points and bring themselves back into the game, at 4-6 down. Denmark's Jasmin Lander drew for one point in the sixth end to take a 7-4 lead but in the seventh, Australia drew to score three and tie the game at 7-7.

In a tense eighth end, Australia set themselves up with a stone on the button, with plenty of stones in front. Lander's final take-out attempt wrecked on a front stone, giving Australia a steal of one to complete a second-half comeback with an 8-7 win that kept their undefeated record going.

Australia's comeback curlers did it again later that evening against Russia, with World Curling reporting Australia's Gill got Australia off to a better start, just getting her last draw around a front guard to open the scoring with two points. In the second end, Russia could only score one point with a hit and stay by Anna Sidorova and in the third end, Gill missed her attempt to score three and had to settle for just two points and a 4-1 lead. Russia scored two in the fourth end with a gentle tap around the button by Sidorova to give Australia a 4-3 lead at the break.

In the fifth end, Gill just brushed a front guard with her last shot and this handed Russia a steal of three and the lead, 6-4. Australia then drew level in the sixth end with a draw for two by Gill and then a single steal in the seventh gave them a 7-6 lead. In the eighth, Russia's Sidorova missed a challenging raise take-out, giving Australia another single steal and the 8-6 win.

Dean Hewitt was happy with the result but said there was still work to do heading into the final round robin matches and knockout playoffs.

"We had to make a couple of freezes in that last end but overall, we're happy with that," Hewitt said. "We've had a few battles and now we just need to sharpen up on a couple of things, and go back to the drawing board for tomorrow."
The Australians will take on Hungary and Spain tonight (EAST) to close out the round robin section of the tournament, before the playoffs the following evening.

You can follow scores and access streaming links via World Curling here

Dual Olympian Greta Small opened her alpine skiing World Cup campaign in Lake Lousie, Canada, with three days of racing in tough conditions.

Finishing 50th after her first downhill event, Small improved to 44th on day two of downhill competition and in the Super G race on day three, Small finished 43rd. All three events were won by Italy’s Sofia Goggia.

Small will continue her World Cup season at St Moritz, Switzerland this weekend.

Bobsled Bree Walker continued her successful 2021 season, claiming gold in the Monobob World Series race in Winterberg, Germany.

Focusing on additional experience on the Winterberg track, Walker elected to forego the World Cup event on the same weekend in Altenberg with great results, finishing first ahead of Germany’s Lisa Buckwitz and France’s Margot Boch.

At the Altenberg World Cup event, Ashleigh Werner finished 17th in the monobob, before teaming with Kiara Reddingius in the 2-woman bobsleigh, also finishing in 17th.

Skeleton racers Jackie Narracott and Nick Timmings continued their World Cup season in Altenberg Germany, with both athletes recording personal bests.

Narracott finished in 15th with her quickest time ever (58.66) on the Altenberg track for a 2-run total of 1.57.60, while Timmings achieved his best ever World Cup result of 19th with a flying 1.54.19 combined time.

The results have both athletes in strong positions to earn quotas for Australia at Beijing 2022 as they continue their World Cup season this weekend in Winterberg, Germany.

Bree Walker has claimed the first Australian world cup podium of the Olympic season.
 
Walker continued her strong start in World Cup competition, with an impressive performance in the monobob discipline in  Innsbruck, Austria, taking home the bronze medal in the second event of the IBSF tour.
 
Monobob is set to make its debut at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, with Walker regarded as one of the leading athletes in the sport, having finished the 2020-2021 season ranked second in the world.
 
The 29-year-old from Queensland was in second place after the first round of competition and moved back one place to finish in third place after the second run.
 
The event was won by American Elana Meyers Taylor, with German Laura Nolte in second.
 
“We made a few important changes this week which obviously had a huge impact”, said Walker after stepping off the podium.
 
“This race certainly gives me confidence, but this season is a marathon, not a sprint, so we hope to build of this result and continue to trust the process for the rest of the season.”
 
Also in action for Australia was Ashley Werner, who finished in 21st place.
 
Walker and Werner will be back in action tonight in Innsbruck, competing in the two-woman bobsleigh World Cup.

IMAGE: IBSF/Viesturs Lacis