Two time Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim has recorded her best result of the season, with a sixth place finish at a night World Cup in Arosa, Switzerland.
 
Kennedy-Sim advanced through two heats of racing to reach the semi final round for the first time this season.
 
In the semi-final, Kennedy-Sim was unable to each the big final after placing fourth, and in the consolation small final, she finished in second, to give the final ranking of sixth.
 
‘I am so happy to have achieved a sixth place today, Kennedy-Sim said, “I was one of the fastest girls in training over the past days and that confidence propelled me into today.
 
“I am looking forward to heading to Italy tomorrow for the final stop of the Cross Alps Tour.”
 
OWIA Ski Cross Head Coach was happy with the performance of the NSWIS athlete after the race.
 
“Arosa was a good race, the weather held off and we had good conditions.”
 
“Sami has been training really fast and was confident.”
 
She had a bit of trouble in the semi-final, getting held out of the first turn into the jump and had to give a little which cost her. “
 
“Sami came back really strong in the small final and had a clean run top to bottom.”
 
Also in action for Australia competing in the men’s event was Anton Grimus in 46th, and Doug Crawford in 54th.
 
The Australian Ski Cross team now heads to Innichen, Italy, for the final stop of the action packed Cross Alps Tour, which sees six competitions at four venues over the course of 17 days.

The first event will take place on December 21, with the second and final event of 2019 on December 22.

Photo: GEPA pictures/ Oliver Lerch

NSWIS Ski Cross athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim has finished in 14th place at the World Cup event in Montafon, Austria, her third top-16 finals performance of the season.
 
Kennedy-Sim started the event off strongly, qualifying in ninth place, but unfortunately in her first round heat in finals, she crossed the line in fourth, and was unable to advance to the semi final stage.
 
After three competitions, Kennedy-Sim is currently in 13th place on the World Cup standings.
 
Also in action for Australia was Doug Crawford, who placed 58th in qualifying.
 
Two time Olympian Anton Grimus was unable to compete after a heavy crash in training forced him to miss the event.
 
It’s a quick turnaround for the Ski Cross athletes, with two World Cup events in the next week as part of the Cross Alps Tour, which sees six competitions at four venues over the course of 17 days.
 
The first event is in Arosa, Switzerland, on December 17, with the final event of 2019 in Innichen, Italy, on December 22.

The 2019/2020 Ski Cross World Cup season has commenced with a double event in Val Thoren’s, France with mixed results for the Australian athletes.
 
Two-time Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim made a good start to the event, qualifying for finals in 14th place.
 
Anton Grimus and Doug Crawford did not advance to the finals, after placing 49th and 57th respectively in qualifying.
 
In the first of two World Cup’s, Kennedy-Sim had a strong first round heat, starting well in the top section and leading at times during the heat. In the lower section of the course, Kennedy-Sim slipped back to third, and was unable to advance to the next round. This gave Kennedy-Sim a final ranking of tenth.
 
“Today’s racing was very tight. I had the lead at some points of the run, and I will carry that confidence into tomorrow’s racing”, said Kennedy-Sim.
 
“I look forward to reviewing the race this evening and being competitive again tomorrow.“
 
In the second World Cup, Kennedy-Sim placed fourth in her heat, giving her a final ranking of 14th.
 
OWIA Ski Cross Head Coach Shawn Fleming commented after the race.
 
“Well that was not the day we had planned for. Decent start but stuck in the mix going into first turn and checked speed tight on the inside. From there she was playing catch up the whole way.”
 
“Next week we compete in Montafon, Austria, which will be a shorter format this year due to low snow but the forecast looks quite challenging for the coming week with heavy snowfalls.”

Sami-Kennedy Sim, Robbie Morrison, Anton Grimus, Doug Crawford and Lee Rolls represented Australia at the Austrian National Championships and Europa Cup in Pitzal.

Due to poor weather and high wind, the event format for the National Championships was adjusted so that a sprint race would be run in the valley.

The field was very strong with many international World Cup athletes using the race as a warm-up to the season proper.

Morrison and Kennedy-Sim were among the standout performers, with Morrison taking home a silver medal and Kennedy-Sim finishing in fifth place.

Grimus finished 28th, Crawford 42nd and Rolls narrowly avoided a crash to finish in 83rd position.

In the Europa Cup event Kennedy-Sim backed up her previous solid performance by taking out fifth place, while Morrison had another outstanding result claiming 12th position, with Grimus 29th, Crawford in 45th and Rolls 63rd.

Article courtesy of Snow Australia

Race Three and Four of the Hotham Ski Cross ANC were held at the weekend, with some solid performances from Australian Ski Cross athletes.

Sami Kennedy-Sim continued her good form from Races 1 and 2 to take home a silver in race three and the gold on race four.

Fellow Aussie Elizabeth Lambert improved across the weekend, finishing 16th and ninth in race three and four respectively.

The men’s event impressed onlookers, with a host of international skiers lining up against some strong Aussie talent.

The Australian men were unstoppable, taking out five spots in the top 10 in race three: Robbie Morrison third, Anton Grimus sixth, Doug Crawford seventh, Lee Rolls eighth and Alfred Wenk ninth.

Race four saw some similar results for the men, the Aussies again taking out five top ten spots, Robbie Morrison remaining the strongest of the group and improving on his race three results to finish in second place.

Crawford outperformed Grimus taking out sixth position, Grimus seventh, Rolls eighth and Wenk ninth.

Kennedy-Sim said the Hotham track was a good challenge that suited athletes at all levels of the sport.

"It was a good challenge for myself and the other World Cup athletes," Kennedy-Sim said.

Listen to more of Sami's thoughts below:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B2QBi26lx0d/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix

Aussie athletes achieved four podium places across the first four races of the FIS ANC Ski Cross held at Hotham on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 September.

After finishing fourth in the first final, Sami Kennedy-Sim improved her standing on day thanks to aggressive racing which saw her cross the line in second position in Wednesday’s final.

Fellow Aussies Anton Grimus, Robbie Morrison and Doug Crawford also achieved some outstanding results over the competition.

Grimus said that despite the tough conditions, Doug and Robbie did a great job in making the finals after Race 1 and 2 respectively.

“It’s great to see the younger guys coming through the ranks and racing really well,” Grimus said.

“We had both soft and firm snow throughout the course which made it tricky.”

Canadians Marielle Thompson and Zach Belczyk took out the finals of Race 1 and 2 in the Women’s and Men’s Ski Cross races respectively.

Race 3 and 4 of the Ski Cross ANC will be held at Hotham on the weekend, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September.

Results

Final 1 Women’s
Marielle Thompson (CAN)
Zoe Chore (CAN)
Brittany Phelan (CAN)

Final 1 Men’s
Zach Belczyk (CAN)
Tyler Wallasch (USA)
Anton Grimus (AUS)

Final 2 Women’s
Marielle Thompson (CAN)
Sami Kennedy-Sim (AUS)
Brittany Phelan (CAN)

Final 2 Men’s
Zach Belczyk (CAN)
Tyler Wallasch (USA)
Robbie Morrison (AUS)

Dual Olympian Anton Grimus has missed out on progressing through to the quarterfinals of the men's Ski Cross on Wednesday after placing fourth in his eighth final heat at Phoenix Snow Park. 

The 27-year-old suffered a crash during his seeding run and went into the first final round with a sore shoulder which hampered his chances of finishing within the top two of the heat. 

While Wednesday's event has seen multiple crashes as each skier tries to be the fastest down the mountain, Grimus joked that he prefers it to the thought of having to compete in other freestyle skiing sports.

"Put it this way, I'd much rather do this than aerials," he said.

"I guess it's all a matter of if you're comfortable with what you're doing and we train day in, day out, off the snow and in the gym. We've got great support from our nation in that and, like anything, if you do it once, if you do it twice, you're going to get used to it.

"There's consequences -- especially on the big stage -- everyone's going hard, that's how it is."

With his PyeongChang campaign now over, Grimus said that he's looking forward to cheering on the remaining Australians who are yet to compete at the 2018 Winter Games, including teammate Sami-Kennedy Sim. 

"We've got a really close knit group," he said.


David Barden
olympics.com.au

The sun was out in full force at Phoenix Park on Sunday as Sochi 2014 Olympian Anton Grimus had his first official day of on-course training ahead of Wednesday's Ski Cross competition. 

The 27-year-old, who has had a rollercoaster of a season as scheduled events across Europe were cancelled or cut short, said that he was "stoked to be able to get some actual training on a course" before he makes his second Olympic appearance. 

"I'm fortunate that we've got three days here of training which is probably more than we've gotten at an event this winter," he said.

"It's a great course, matches up really well and from a safety aspect it's pretty good as well because you're never too high up in the air but the jumps are big. Sochi, the last jump was just insane - there was no room for error. But here, you can really just go full gas, trust in yourself and let it rip."

Despite having undergone two surgeries in the past 15 months, Grimus is heading into PyeongChang 2018 confident and with the knowledge that he can ski fast. 

"I just know I can do it."

"We've got a great team here, heaps of support, dietitian, physio, doc [and] coaches all around us.

"We'll be spending a bit of time at the computer seeing where we can go better and that ski tech will be making sure that our skis are fast.

"I've got full trust in everyone and we've got a great team with OWI [Olympic Winter Institute] and AOC [Australian Olympic Committee] has put up a really good show here for us and everything's organised I think better than any other team.

"We definitely have all the tools to be able to execute and it's great."

David Barden
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

Cancelled races and delays took a toll on the six-event in sixteen days Cross Alps Tour this month with three races being either abandoned or decided by qualification runs only.

The Cross Alps Tour, a tour within the broader World Cup schedule, wrapped up last night in Innichen, Italy with Australia’s Sami-Kennedy Sim finishing 11th in the race and 13th in the Cross Alps rankings.

Anton Grimus placed 33rd in the time trial qualification of 53 men, one place short of the final line World Cup line up and 43rd on the Tour rankings.

Kennedy-Sim says she is happy, albeit frustrated with another 11th place.

“We lost a couple of the races due to weather and the results were just qualifying times, not racing. It was hard to get momentum,” she said.

“I’m happy to be having elements of high performance in place and to be racing.  

“The work pre-season, physically and on the mental game, has been good. The elements are all there and it’s nice to see things progress. Now it’s about putting it together.”

“I’m glad to have things to work on. That would be boring if I didn’t. I love the fight and I will keep fighting.”

“Everyone is stepping up (ahead of the PyeongChang Games),” Kennedy-Sim explained. “More people have come up from Europa Cup but there is still about 35 girls in each World Cup.”  

Kennedy-Sim will return home for two weeks to “recharge” before the tour starts again on January 12 in Idre, Sweden.

Anton Grimus will also take advantage of the break to further strengthen his chances of making the  top 32 to qualify for the PyeongChang Games. Grimus, who underwent knee surgery twice earlier in the year is currently ranked 34th.

The poet Robert Burns’ saying goes that ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’.
 
Such has been the challenge for the Audi FIS Cross Alps Tour with bad conditions having affected the Ski Cross World Cups in the first three locations (Montafon, Arosa and Val Thorens), that better race weather is now high on the athletes’ wish list.
 
NSWIS Ski Cross athletes Sami Kennedy-Sim, currently ranked 11th in the world, and Anton Grimus, ranked 37th, are among those hoping for kinder skies in Innichen, Italy for the fourth World Cup tour stop.
 
Coach Shawn Fleming agreed that the start to this season has been challenging but that conditions were looking good going forward.  
 
“Italy is looking great, although I don’t want to jinx us!” Fleming said. “The weather forecast is looking fairly stable especially compared to what we have had to deal with so far through the Cross Alps Tour.”
 
“The track is ready and our first day of training is tomorrow.”


Mentally preparing for race day for events to then be called off presents its own set of challenges.
 
“Everything has been challenging thus far in the season in regards to creating any normalcy or finding some momentum,” Fleming said.
 
“It has been a season of ‘hurry up and wait’. At the end of the day we know and accept this as a part of outdoor winter sport and all athletes and nations are affected equally.”
 
“We try are best to prepare the athletes for the long days of waiting on hill and making sure they have strategies to pass the time although it then becomes a challenge to ‘fire up’ after long hours waiting.”
 
“Montafon was a very unique event due to scheduling and weather and in the end the entire event consisted of one training run and then straight in to heats with no qualification.”
 
“All-in-all it was three hours on one morning and very challenging on athletes to perform with such little time to adjust to the track.”

Anton Grimus, who is looking for Olympic qualification points and to build his confidence after losing much of last season, is happy so far and was able to begin strongly at Val Thorens last week in the eight-final.  
 
“Anton’s knee has been holding up quite well and he is definitely been able to preform day in and day out,” coach Shawn Fleming advised. “He is being treated regularly by our physio to make sure no sneaky issues arise and so far things are looking very positive.”
 
Sochi Olympian Kennedy-Sim, who has regularly been inside the six in World Cups – including a silver in Sweden earlier this year, is after race readiness to fine tune the necessary split-second decisions, saying she “can’t wait to get back in the start gate”.
Two back-to-back World Cups will be raced in Innichen, with qualification for Ladies and Men  scheduled for Wednesday, 20 December then finals on 21 December and again on 22 December.


 
You can follow the live updates HERE and on OWIA’s Twitter account HERE. Eurosport will be broadcasting the Innichen Ski Cross World Cups on 21 December at 11.30pm (AEDT) and 22 December at 11.30pm (AEDT).
 
 
 
 

There was more bad luck lined up for the 2017 FIS Ski Cross Alps Tour on Tuesday night in Arosa (SUI), as the second competition in a row was forced to be cancelled due to the inclement weather that has been hovering over the Alps for the past week.

The qualification round for the Arosa competition took place in the early afternoon on Tuesday after heavy winds forced the its postponement from Monday. And though that successful qualification round and a spirited public heat selection soon after it carried great promise into the evening, the sudden onset of a heavy snowfall threw everything that the organizers and officials could handle, and more, and after four challenging heats of the men’s eight finals the decision was made to call off the rest of the competition.

However, because the qualification phase of the competition was completed successfully for both men and ladies, according to FIS rules a final result was able to be rewarded to based on the qualification rankings.

The rankings from qualification saw NSWIS athletes Sami Kennedy-Sim in 11th place with team-mate Anton Grimus in 37th place.

After two Cross Alps events, Kennedy-Sim is in 11th place and Grimus 33rd place on the tour standings.

From Arosa, the 2017 FIS Ski Cross Alps tour moves on quickly to Montafon (AUT), where the next competition of the tour is slated to take place on Friday 15 December.

Australia’s Sami Kennedy-Sim and Anton Grimus have ranked 11th and 20th respectively following the first day of the FIS Ski Cross World Cup Cross Alps Tour in Val Thorens, France.
 
After narrowly missing out on progressing through to the semi-finals and placing third in her quarterfinal, Kennedy-Sim said the start to the season hadn’t been “necessarily great but it’s definitely not a detriment either”.
 
“The best training for racing is racing, you can’t reproduce the atmosphere or the stress without going to a race,” she said.
 
“Unfortunately for some reason I had an absolute muck up and thought that I was somewhere else in the course and made a mistake that cost me going through and I almost pulled it back but not quite.
 
“I’ll take a top 12 and enjoy a day off tomorrow and rest my knee and hopefully get to race on Saturday.”
 
While training on the course on Wednesday afternoon, Kennedy-Sim had a “little training crash”.
 
“I kind of was just playing it all by ear and taking every sound as they came,” she said.
 
“Obviously the first round of that is going skiing in the morning and I felt OK skiing so I started training, training was smooth.
 
“It wasn’t really painful outside of the start features and a technical part in the bottom of the course.”
 
Grimus was at the front of the pack in his eighth final after a powerful start but ended up placing third after running “a bit wide”. Nevertheless, the Sochi Olympian said that he gave it his all “and made a pretty good effort of it”.
 
“Out of the start I gave it to them,” he said.
 
“I was right out there and I’ve been working on my starts a lot because in the past it’s something that I’ve lacked in and I got the start down.

“And then my speed kicked in which I’ve always had and I was out in front and tried to defend and had to run a different line to what I was used to so on the first negative I ran a bit wide which allowed the other guys to get in, so I was in second.”
 
The 26-year-old added that fellow competitor, Frenchman Jean Frederic Chapuis -- whom the course in Val Thorens is named after -- “skied brilliantly” during their race.
 
“He went out wide and went from third to first and showed us how it’s done,” he said.
 
“You know, it’s a positive day all in all, I’ve done some quick skiing and I’ve got the speed, my starts are quick so it’s just another step in the right direction building my confidence.”
 
At the end of the day, confidence is what is most important heading into a race – indeed it’s “what separates the top guys”, according to Grimus.
 
Kennedy-Sim and Grimus have a busy next couple of weeks as the World Cup Cross Alps Tour moves on to Arosa, Switzerland for a night time sprint event which is then followed by races in Montafon, Austria.
 
The Tour then concludes in Innichen, Italy on December 22 with a back-to-back two-race finale.
 
With Friday’s races being brought forward to Thursday due to the threat of an incoming winter storm, the pair will compete again in Val Thorens on Saturday.
 
You can follow the live updates HERE and on OWIA’s Twitter account HERE.
 
David Barden
OWIA

​

Injury is part and parcel of an elite sports career and often a circuit breaker that allows the athlete to refocus, build a stronger body and hone the mental skills necessary to succeed.

26-year-old Sochi Ski Cross Olympian Anton Grimus has learned that patience is a virtue after six meniscus surgeries to his right knee, the two latest in December 2016 and again last month.

“All is well,” Grimus said this week after completing his latest round of rehab. “I’ve learned patience. Stuff isn’t going to happen overnight and giving my knee time to fix itself has allowed me to focus on the finer points of rehab.”

“Knowing how your body works and moves is essential. I’m older and wiser about how I go about training now.”

With a return to snow scheduled for mid-August, Grimus spends the weekdays at the Victorian Institute of Sport training mornings and afternoons with OWIA strength and conditioning coach Will Morgan before heading home to Mt Buller on the weekends.

Grimus hits his mental reset button in the Victorian Alps as a keen lover of the bush and experienced trout fisherman. On the flip side, the competition stakes are high for the formidable looking ‘mountain man’ as an athlete on a mission.   
“At times, it is frustrating because I just want to get out there and ski,” he said of being at home in Mt Buller most weekends. “It’s also good to have a break, sit back and focus on what you’re doing, why and where you are in your career.”

 “I’m feeling better now than I was pre -op in June. The meniscus needed another clear out. If I do the work, take the time, it will all come together.”

Therefore, it’s back to patience but his sights are firmly set on PyeongChang next February for a better result than Sochi, where he finished 25th.

 “I’m definitely more experienced and mentally mature (than prior to Sochi) and have a lot more information to build from,” he said.

In the meantime, Grimus’ competitive racing pulse has to be satisfied with an intense online PlayStation game of Battlefield with OWIA team mates Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin and Cam Bolton, which he says is “exhilarating”.

With the World Championships just under two weeks away, Sami Kennedy-Sim has achieved a confidence boosting fifth place performance at the final World Cup event of the season in Blue Mountain, Canada.

With only the top-16 women and top-32 men invited to competed at the final World Cup event, the worlds best were keen to finish the season on a high and improve their end of season ranking.

In the round of 16 quarter final stage, Kenendy Sim advanced to the semi final's after placing second. She then narrowly missed advancing to the medal round final four after placing third in the semi final.

Fueled by her "big final" near miss, Kennedy-Sim lead from start to finish in the "small final" consultation final to finish the event in fifth place.

The result saw Kennedy-Sim finish the season ranked 12th on the World Cup standings, almost tying her previous best season end ranking of 11th in 2012.

After the Race OWIA Ski Cross Head Coach Shawn Fleming commented.

"Sami was having a good semi-final sitting in second through the bottom section, but a series of small mistakes opened the door for Canadian Britt Phelan, and she took advantage making the pass on the last jump.

"Sami was obviously frustrated with her mistake costing her a trip to a big final and this fired her up and she destroyed the field in the small final winning from the start and never looked back."

NSWIS team-mate Anton Grimus collected valuable Olympic qualification points with a 24th place finish after narrowly missing qualification through to the round of 16.

"Anton is still working back from his knee injury and while he went out in the first round he skied his heat quite well, especially through the start section", Fleming said.

"Unfortunately one of the Italians stayed close behind him and was able to use Anton in the last turn to get a bit of a slingshot and was able to make the pass at the finish line by the length of his hand."

The OWIA Ski Cross program now heads back to Europe for a few days on snow before heading to Sierra Nevada, Spain, for the  World Championships on March 18.

IMAGE: Sami Kennedy-Sim (right) in action at Blue Mountain © FIS Freestyle

NSWIS Ski Cross athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim has broken through for the first podium performance of her career, claiming silver in the first of two World Cup events in Idre Fjall, Sweden.
 
The exciting result makes Kennedy-Sim just the fourth Australian Ski Cross athlete to win a World Cup medal, joining former teammates Jenny Owens, Scott Kneller and current teammate Anton Grimus as the only Australian’s to achieve the significant milestone.
 
On two previous occasions in her career, Kennedy-Sim had made it through to the final four skiers in the final medal round, but had to settle for fourth place.
 
After qualifying strongly in third position, Kennedy-Sim raced well in the head-to-head finals, finishing in second place in the quarter-final, semi-final and medal final round for the silver.
 
Finishing ahead of Kennedy-Sim in first place was Swedish skier Sandra Naeslund with Austrian Katrin Ofner once place behind in third.
 
Reflecting on her first World Cup podium, Kennedy-Sim commented after the race.
 
“Today has been an awesome day, this has been my first podium.”
 
“Usually my starts are my strength but on this track that is not the case. I skied the fast and technical track really well and the feeling of all the hard work that I have put in and that my support team have put in is fantastic!”
 
“Now that I have this under my belt I am so ready to repeat it.”
 
OWIA Ski Cross Head Coach Shawn Flemming was full of praise for his athlete’s performance.  
 
“Super proud of Sami today she was able to stay composed and stick to her game plan through every heat and we knew with that we had a good chance. Consistency was the goal for today and it finally paid off for her.”
 
“The track here is incredible, so much opportunity for racing. Very technical start section, through the middle it's full of roller combinations, small jumps and some turns then leading in to the longest finish straight which is packed with huge jumps and roller features, very exciting course to race on.”
 
Competing in the second World Cup event at Idre Fjall, Kennedy-Sim was unable to replicate her day one performance, with the NSWIS skier finishing in tenth place in the quarter final round.
 
Anton Grimus will have to wait a little longer to make his return to World Cup competition following minor knee surgery in December. Grimus took part in official training, but the coaching and medical team in consultation with Grimus elected to wait to the next event in Sunny Valley, Russia, for his return.

IMAGE: Sami Kennedy-Sim (left) breaks through for the first podium of her career © Anton Grimus

NSWIS Ski Cross athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim, has finished in 11th place in a weather affected World Cup event in Feldberg, Germany.

The first of back-to-back World Cup races scheduled to take place was cut short due to a winter storm that blew into the area during the competition.

The weather in Feldberg had been challenging for some time leading up to Saturday’s competition, with a qualification round scheduled for Friday already cancelled before Saturday’s troubles. While the track at Feldberg was in good condition on competition day, and local organizers had large crews on hand slipping and maintaining the course, at some point the battle against snow accumulation and the rising winds became a losing one.

With the cancellation of Friday’s qualifiers, officials elected to go with an alternate start plan on Saturday, expanding the heat format from 32 men to 64, and from 16 ladies to 32, giving every athlete at least one run in a head to head heat and whittling down the field to the standard format in time for televised finals on Saturday afternoon.

While these preliminary rounds were completed satisfactorily, the weather took a turn for the worse just before the start of the finals, and by the time the last men’s heat from the round of eight had completed their run, it became clear that the competition would be unable to proceed.

With at least one competition round completed officials were able to declare a result, this saw Kennedy-Sim finish in 11th.

Despite a herculean effort from organizers, crews, and officials, the second scheduled World Cup was cut short for the second straight day as persistent snow and wind made the situation too difficult and variable to finish the event. This day no heats where able to take place meaning the event was officially cancelled.

With four events remaining on the now 13-leg Ski Cross World Cup tour, Kennedy-Sim sits in 15th place on the standings.

Australia’s leading male athlete, Anton Grimus is currently battling a knee injury and was ruled out for the Feldberg event. The 26-year-old had surgery on his knee in late December, after it had caused him trouble at the back end of 2016.

Well on the way to recovery, Grimus was on the side-line in Feldberg, but has plans to travel to the next event with the rest of the team, and is hopeful of resuming competition in mid February.

The team now flies to Idre Fjall, Sweden, for two World Cup events which will take place during February 10-12.

Sami Kennedy-Sim has completed the final event of the six leg Cross Alps Tour with a 13th place performance in Innichen, Italy.
 
The results gives Sami a final ranking of 15th, on the Cross Alps Tour standings, a new initiative for the December period of the season that saw six competition starts across two weeks.
 
The highlight of the six events was Sami’s equal career best fourth place World Cup finish in Arosa, Switzerland.
 
Sami’s NSWIS teammate Anton Grimus did not compete in the final two events of the Cross Alps Tour in order to rest his knee.
 
Sami and Anton will resume World Cup competition in the new year in Watles, Italy, on January 14-15.

Sami Kennedy-Sim has equalled her best ever Ski Cross World Cup result after finishing fourth in Arosa, Switzerland this morning.

After qualifying for the finals in 14th, Kennedy-Sim won her quarter-final and finished second in her semi to progress through to the race for the medals.

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympian was competing in back-to-back Ski Cross World Cups in Europe. Having been unable to progress past the first round of competition at the first World Cup events in Val Thorens last week, she felt more comfortable with her performance in the third World Cup start of the season.

“I was feeling strong today and had a good training run this afternoon,” said Kennedy-Sim after her final run.

“I skied really well in each heat and I am proud to have reached my second final. My starts were extremely strong, especially as I was in the worst lane choice in the yellow bib, but I held my own.

"The World Cup at Arosa has been awesome; having an event at night is always exciting and it draws a great crowd.”

Marielle Thompson of Canada won the gold medal this morning with 100 points. Poland’s Karolina Riemen-Zerebecka took out silver and Ophelie David of France won bronze.

Fellow Australian ski cross teammate Anton Grimus qualified for the final in 30th position, but managed to improve his standings to finish 24th overall.

Kennedy-Sim and Grimus’ coach Shawn Flemming said the night was full of highs and lows.

"Obviously a great day for Sami and her skiing was in great form. Hard to miss a podium but great heat skiing from her and was great to see it finally pay off.

“Heartbreaking for Anton. He had such a good start and executed perfectly. The mistake in the negative was hard to watch and obviously was the end of the race for him.”

The pair now head to Montafon in Austria for the next World Cup, kicking off in two days’ time.

“I can't wait to head to Montafon tomorrow and get straight into the fourth competition of the Cross Alps Tour,” said Kennedy-Sim.

“Our Australian Ski Cross team coaches and staff, as well as my team mate Anton Grimus, have worked really well together and I am sure we will continue this for the rest of the season."

The Val Thorens Ski Cross World Cup is done and dusted for Sami Kennedy-Sim and a now beardless Anton Grimus after they failed to advance in their respective quarter final and heats.

Grimus trailed over the start in 4th and fought back to take a wide line from behind and make it into 3rd but didn’t have the pace to make it into the required top two for the quarter final.

For Kennedy-Sim, skiing in Quarter Final 3 it was a better start than her first race but the pace set by Swede Sandra Naeslund proved too quick to catch from behind today.

The Ski Cross community will make a fast dash to Arosa, Switzerland for the next World Cup in two days time.   

The opening event of the 2016-2017 World Cup season has been a tough one for NSWIS athletes Sami Kennedy-Sim and Anton Grimus, with both skiers unable to progress pass the first round of competition.
 
Competing under spectacular blue skies in the French resort of Val Thorens, both athletes came into the day optimist after qualifying for the finals in 15th (Kennedy-Sim) and 21st (Grimus) places respectively.
 
Unfortunately in the women’s round of 16, Kennedy-Sim was caught up on the first feature, losing all speed and was subsequently unable to catch up to the other competitors.
 
Grimus showed some potential in his first round heat, but was unable to establish himself in the top two, which is required to advance through to the next round.
 
The second day of World Cup competition will take place tomorrow, where both athletes will be keen to atone for the results on day one.

IMAGE: Sami Kennedy-Sim & Anton Grimus ridint the chairlift in Val Thorens, France.

Australian Ski-Cross representatives Sami Kennedy-Sim and Anton Grimus have made it through to the finals of the inaugural 2016 Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup Cross Alps Tour after solid qualifying runs overnight.

The event kicked off at 9pm AEDT in Val Thorens, France, with Kennedy-Sim the first competitor in the Ladies field, qualifying in 15th place ahead of the first of two finals races that start tonight.

Head coach Shawn Fleming said despite a few mistakes, Sami skied impressively and gave herself the best chance for the remained of the weekend.

“She skied the top and middle sections very smoothly and with lots of confidence,” Fleming said.

“Entering the bottom section, she ended up a little off line which cost her almost 1.7 seconds but she scrubbed up speed well enough to qualify.”

Kennedy-Sim said that despite a few minor mistakes, she was happy with her efforts.

“It was a tough day with the one qualifying deciding our places in two races, but it’s a new day tomorrow and I’m looking forward to the fight,” she said after the race.

In the Male field, Grimus put in a smooth performance, qualifying in 21st place to get himself in the finals as well.

“Anton was 7th at the first split and maintained his speed through the middle 8th, however had a mistake at the very bottom of the course,” said Fleming.

“It cost him speed through the last turns and to the finish jump, but good enough to keep him racing for the next two days.

It was a perfect way to start the season, with a slightly redesigned course with more technical turns and jump combinations possible.

Fleming said the perfect weather and snow conditions gave his two Aussies the perfect chance to succeed and gain some crucial points for Olympic qualification.

“It’s a new mini competition format, consisting of 6 races in 4 different venues, so it puts a lot of pressure for the first race than previous years,” he explained.

“It was really critical to get them both qualifying and start the season with some good momentum and they got the job done so now we look forward to the finals ahead.”

Sami and Anton will start their finals tonight from 11pm AEDT.

More information and scores can be found at http://www.fis-ski.com/freestyle-skiing/ski-cross/events-and-places/event=39084/race=9485/

The wait is over and the first ever Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup Cross Alps Tour begins with the first training session of the 2016/17 ski cross season beginning in Val Thorens (FRA) on December 6.

Among the competitors vying for qualification spots for the first of the back-to-back Val Thorens events on ahead of the first two races this Friday and Saturday are Australians Sami Kennedy-Sim and Anton Grimus.

“We arrived in Val Thorens on Monday from our Austrian training base,” explained Sami Kennedy-Sim. “It will be training for two days, qualifying on Thursday and racing the next two days.”

With a change in the structure of the Ski Cross World Cups, competitors will be facing a busy December with six Cups in two weeks.

“It’s new for us,” said Kennedy-Sim. “Every five days we will be at a new venue. The style of scheduling that’s been created by FIS will be a Cross Alps Tour – like a Tour de France, and it’s getting a lot of attention and traction across Europe.”

“I’m excited to start racing even though it is a crazy block,” she admitted. “We have two days off in 15.”

The Cross Alps Tour will bring some never-before-seen rules and features to the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup over the coming days, with the most notable additions being the “wild card” slots for the World Cup’s top athletes and the public heat selection. 

In brief, the wild card spot is an assurance that the top eight men and the top four ladies as ranked will see a spot in the finals even with a poor qualification performance, with one of the intentions here being to ensure the Tour is decided in the races, not in the qualifications. 

For the first race’s qualification in Val Thorens the ranking system will be applied based on last season’s final World Cup leaderboard. After the first race in Val Thorens, the wild card spots will be determined by an athlete’s ranking on the Cross Alps Tour leaderboard. 

Mental preparation will be key.

“It’s definitely going to be an interesting challenge for Anton and myself to regroup after every event – win, lose or draw,” Kennedy-Sim said.

“I’ve been working hard on my re-focussing skills with AIS Psychologist Tom Hammond and management skills with coach Shawn Fleming. It’s all about managing us holistically.”   

For the Cross Alps Tour and only for the Tour the top qualifying athletes - again, eight men and four ladies - will be given the opportunity to choose their three competitors for the first heat of the next day’s race.

The top qualifier will be given first choice, which for the men will mean choosing one competitor from those ranked 9-16, one from those ranked 17-24, and finally one from those ranked 32. After that the next top qualifier will choose, and on down through the top eight men or top four ladies.

After Val Thorens, Ski Cross heads to Arosa in Switzerland on December 12 & 13 then Montafon in Austria, December 16 & 17.