SKI CROSS: Sami Kennedy-Sim has been selected to fly the flag at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games as Australia’s sole competitor in the women’s ski cross event.

“I am so proud to be on my second Olympic Team! To share this experience with my friends and family will be the best,” Kennedy-Sim said.

The Manly-native made her Olympic debut four years ago at the Sochi 2014 Games and is now a seasoned athlete of the World Cup circuit with more than 91 starts under her belt.

Despite four years of competition against the world’s best athletes, Kennedy-Sim said it is her Sochi 2014 experience that will help her the most heading into her second Olympic campaign.

“I know what to expect now. The Olympics is so different to normal World Cup competitions.”

The 29-year-old’s debut Olympics proved difficult after she had some trouble in the qualifying run before showing glimpses of brilliance in her 1/8 final. However, Kennedy-Sim ran out of luck in the race and didn't progress, finishing the day ranked 28th.

Determined to improve from an opening campaign, Kennedy-Sim has come a long way in four years including two 12th place finishes at the 2015 and 2017 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2017 Idre Fjall World Cup.

“Four years older - four years wiser! I am more connected with myself as a person and athlete now then I was in Sochi.”

The women’s ski cross event will be the last Freestyle Skiing discipline to be contested at the 2018 Games, with Kennedy-Sim facing off against 32 competitors on Day 14 of the Games (February 23).

Kennedy-Sim, who married fellow Olympian Ben Sim (Cross-Country Skiing – Vancouver 2010) will head into the event knowing she’s raced on the Olympic course previously.

“We competed in Phoenix Park two seasons ago. The course is really fun and challenging so I am looking forward to getting back there,” she said.

Australia is also hoping to be reallocated a quota position in the men's event which will be confirmed later this week.
 
Ski Cross will be just one of five Freestyle Skiing disciplines at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games with athletes in Aerials, Moguls, Ski Halfpipe and Ski Slopestyle also vying for medals. Find out more about freestyle skiing at the Games HERE.
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Ashleigh Knight
olympics.com.au

Two back-to-back competitions opened 2018 for the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup tour at Sweden’s Idre Fjall resort on the weekend with mixed results for the Australians amid another weather-affected event.

Saturday’s qualifying saw Sami Kennedy-Sim easily through as she has done every race, but going out in the quarter finals in World Cup 1, ending up with another 11th place. Sunday’s women’s finals were cancelled after the wind picked up, but by virtue of the qualifying time trials the previous day, Kennedy-Sim picked up her first top ten for the season.

Anton Grimus was not in the mix for World Cup 1, bowing out in the qualifying in 46th place, but bounced back in the second qualifying time trial with a much-improved 17th, booking himself into the eighth finals for the Sunday World Cup, where he came third.

“Idre was a tough one,” Grimus said. “The weather came in overnight with snow and wind.”

“The track was running a lot slower, so the girls were canned but the guys were able to manage without too many problems.”

Grimus had struggled for results until making the finals in the second World Cup in Idre, and is still wanting more after coming third in the opening final round and not moving through to the quarters.   

“I got out of the gate in fourth which wasn’t a bad situation to be in and I backed myself to get down the course.”
“One mistake up the top put me in a long landing and I kept pushing and made up some ground.”

“I just over pressed the jumps in the slow conditions and knuckled two or three jumps leading into the flat section, which wasted my speed away and didn’t have enough down the bottom to make the pass and ended up in third place.”

“(It’s) a bit disappointing. I wanted a lot more from myself in this race. The track was a track that suited me but I didn’t have a clean enough run to make it happen… but onto Nakiska now,” he said.  

Sami Kennedy-Sim, who wants to break this season’s 11th place hoo doo, did make it into the top ten for the second World Cup by virtue of the qualifying time trials.  

“We’ve got a lot of wind, fresh snow and poor conditions,” Kennedy-Sim said on Sunday night after the second World Cup for the women was cancelled.

“At first it was postponed and I didn’t get a training run. It looked like we would proceed (to the finals) and then they cancelled the comp,” she said.

Staying healthy and injury-free was uppermost in her mind.

“If they had run the comp I would have withdrawn. The men’s race was in pretty bad conditions and if they were having trouble, it would have been worse for the women. They made the right decision for the safety of the athletes. Today wouldn’t have ended well.”

Kennedy-Sim was frustrated with Saturday’s World Cup result.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t make the top eight. This track is notorious for drafting. I tactically changed to be behind and draft.”

“I executed well and my race plan for the first half of the event was all good. I was able to overtake and then I went long on a jump and I got rotated. It was a near crash.”

“It was disappointing for me to have another 11th. The result on paper was another 11th but it was a photo finish. Things are starting to come together.”

“Whilst I’m happy with the decision to cancel the second World Cup, I would have liked to be able to race. I wanted to do well for our ski technician Martin Palacios for his birthday!”

Grimus and Kennedy-Sim, along with all the Ski Cross World Cup tour athletes, coaches and technicians will travel to Nakiska, Canada for the last competition on January 20 before PyeongChang.

“Let’s hope the bags come too,” Kennedy-Sim quipped. “The entire tour is on that flight.  It’s a busy and exciting time.”
 
 

The December weather that plunged the Ski Cross World Cup tour into an endless ‘start-stop’ challenge is hopefully only a memory as the season restarts in Idre, Sweden on Friday this week.

Australia’s two best Ski Cross athletes, Sami Kennedy-Sim and Anton Grimus are buckling down for the remaining World Cups in Sweden and Canada before PyeongChang with coach Shawn Fleming saying that Idre provides ‘a good replica’ of the end section for the upcoming Games.

“The PyeongChang start will be slightly different from what we were on before (at a previous event), but the rest is the same. There are good opportunities for passing in the second half,” Fleming said.

“For us coming into Idre – it’s good practise because there’s a lot of passing at the end. The last half in PyeongChang is dead straight and you could be at the back and pass all the way to the front. It’s not done until you at the finish.”

Sixteen women will qualify to the final rounds in Idre and Fleming says Kennedy-Sim has pace.

“Sami is skiing up there for pace with the best of them. Really, for her, it’s just buckling down and staying composed.,” he said.  

“She is definitely someone who builds on her confidence and that’s the key.”

“December was the first European winter in a long time that was start stop. The programs were continually altered and that was tough for everyone. In Montafon, there was only one training run and then step in perform right away on a one and half minute course.”

“Sami definitely recognises that the lack of continuity has made it hard and owns some of the silly mistakes. The results were 11th, 11th,11th. Just give us something other than 11th,” he said.  “The small final is just as attainable as the big final when there is only four.”  

“We get the 11th and can see the trend. It’s not that we’re not as good or as fast. The trend gives us a really clear position to know where to go. We need to do a better job putting it together in that one run and then it’s fair game.”  

“There’s an element of luck in a sport like Ski Cross. It requires mental toughness and can switch day to day.”

“Ninety percent of what Sami does ninety percent of the time is right. Now it’s finding another five per cent.”

The Idre track suits Kennedy-Sim and is the location that delivered a World Cup podium and bronze medal last year.  

 “She likes the track at Idre. We’re hoping the weather looks good for the double then we are off to Nakiska (in Canada), a quick break and a final training camp before PyeongChang.”

Anton Grimus is looking for the edge and has been training with the Americans. He will want to be inside the top 32 skiers to go through the eighth finals.

“I’m fairly confident he’s going to make it and be going in to the Games. Of course, you’d want to see results,” Fleming said.

Grimus had knee surgery in June to ‘clean up’ a previous surgery in January and is all good to go.

“It’s (the knee) not 100 percent but not a limiting factor in his skiing. He’s a competitor and wants to do well.”

Currently Grimus sits outside the top 32 for Olympic qualification but Fleming says that, “with adjustments to entry allocations he should be OK for PyeongChang.”

The Idre World Cup qualifications begin with the men at 9pm, Friday evening (AEDT). The first World Cup finals on Saturday start at 9pm (AEDT). The second World Cup kicks off at 10pm on Sunday, 14 January.

Follow OWIA on Twitter for all the action. Check out the www.owia.org for a full report and watch the finals LIVE on Eurosport Australia
 
By Belinda Noonan
OWIA