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Turning the tables in NZ

26/8/2011

 
Australia's top ranked ski cross athlete, Scott Kneller, regained the upper hand over his protege in the final of the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games at the south island's Cardrona resort today.

The World Cup winner and Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport skier was twice beaten by fellow squad member, Anton Grimus, in two days of competition in the Suzuki National Snowsport Championships at Victoria's Mount Hotham earlier this week.

However in New Zealand today, Kneller reversed the recent results.

Kneller, 22, finished less than a ski length ahead of the hard-charging Grimus, 20, in a cliff-hanging final, with Swiss up-and-comer Kevin Amacker in third place.

Today's race down the 1070-metre course, consisting of 20 features, almost seemed like there was more at stake than the win.

While Kneller and Anton are training partners and good mates, a friendly rivalry is emerging, which acts as a healthy incentive for both AIS / NSWIS squad members to ski faster and achieve better results.

Kneller, the more experienced of the duo, has been mentoring his younger teammate, along with AIS ski cross head coach Matt Lyons, and today's victory seemed to act as a reminder to Grimus that Kneller still has the team's top spot.

But Kneller did not win without having to fight. On two occasions Grimus tried to make passing maneuvers but the winner of a World Cup event in Italy last December held his nerve and his line through turns to reach the finish line first.

At one stage Grimus was so close to taking the lead that he clipped the back of Kneller's ski, which momentarily reduced some of Grimus' momentum.

Lyons said that he was impressed by the form shown by Kneller and Grimus and added that there are signs for a good World Cup season in the northern hemisphere later this year.

He said that he was also impressed by the performance of 16-year-old Australian Lee Garner, who qualified for the small final.

In the women's event, Katya Crema, who is also a member of the AIS ski cross program, went close to downing Swiss world number four, Fanny Smith, for the second time in one week.

Crema, who defeated Smith at Mt Hotham last Saturday in the first of two races, set the day's fastest qualifying time, about 0.5 of a second faster than Smith.

However, Smith seemed to find another gear in the final, crossing the line about a ski length ahead of the Australian, with Kiwi Michelle Greig in third.

Two out of two for Grimus

22/8/2011

 
Young gun Anton Grimus showed exactly how well he has learned from his mentor, Scott Kneller, when the "student" showed the "teacher" a clean pair of skis in the final of the Suzuki Australia-New Zealand ski cross championships at Mount Hotham today.

For the 20-year-old Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport skier, the win gave him back-to-back victories in the championships, finishing today's final ahead of two Japanese skiers, Kenji Kono and Hiroomi Takizawa, with World Cup winner Kneller in fourth place.

Despite Kneller, who is Australia's number one ranked ski cross athlete, clocking the fastest time in qualifying and comfortably winning each race on his way to the final, Grimus bolted to the lead as soon as all four athletes left the start gate.

The Mt Buller-based athlete then held the lead all the way to the finish line in a performance that underlined Grimus as the athlete to beat when the series concludes at Cardrona, New Zealand's south island, on August 26.

Grimus also defeated Kneller, the winner of a World Cup event in Italy last December, by a slender margin in yesterday's final to cap off the best consecutive events of his short career.

Grimus said that Kneller, his fellow AIS / NSWIS squad member, has been a source of learning during the last 12 months that they have trained together.

"Scott has a good reputation from at the Olympics and also from winning a World Cup event so to beat him is a great result," Grimus said.

"Scott is very tough to beat and there is no doubt about it, I have learned a lot from him during the last 12 months.

"How he goes over the features and keeps his body position is pretty impressive and I have sort of tried to mimic that and learn as much as possible from him."

Katya Crema, another AIS/NSW squad member, finished in second place in the women's final behind Swiss ace and world number four, Fanny Smith.

Crema scored an emphatic win over Smith in yesterday's final but today the Australian was unable to repeat the victory, finishing ahead of Japan's World Cup skier Chiyako Hioki.

Crema, who trains at Perisher, was second fastest in qualifying behind Smith and leaves Mt Hotham after the two days of competition knowing that she is capable of competing with the world's top echelon of ski cross athletes.

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