Category: Anton Grimus

Kennedy-Sim finishes season with seventh placing

6/3/2016

Australian Ski Cross racer, Sami Kennedy-Sim, has finished her 2015/16 World Cup campaign with a seventh placing in Arosa, Switzerland.

After returning from injury just three weeks ago, and following a 14th placing at last week’s event in Korea, the OWIA/NSWIS athlete was determined to end her season with a positive performance.

She successfully negotiated her way to the final eight, but a third placing in her Semi-Final saw the Perisher skier confined to the Small-Final. She crossed the line in third place to secure her seventh placing.

It was a break-through year for the 27 year-old, who had a number of top-10 performances.

The Women’s event was won by Sweden’s Anna Holmlund, who also took home the Crystal Globe as the 2015/16 World Cup Champion.

The sprint style event in the Swiss resort featured a complex series of bumps, rollers and jumps, but Kennedy-Sim handled the course well, particularly getting into good positions early.

“I am happy to be back in the top eight, but I wanted to reach the Big Final so bad,” Kennedy-Sim said.

“I return to Australia next week and I am already looking forward to continuing the good work into the Australian Winter season and build into an even stronger World Cup in 2016/17,” she added.

After placing ninth at last week’s Ski Cross World Cup event in Korea, fellow OWIA/NSWIS athlete, Anton Grimus, was unable to continue his recent form and was eliminated in the opening round, leaving him in 36th place overall.

The Men’s event was taken out by Semen Denshchikov of Russia.

IMAGE: Sami Kennedy-Sim training on the course in the lead up to the event in Arosa © FIS

Grimus finishes ninth at World Cup event in Korea

28/2/2016

OWIA/NSWIS athlete Anton Grimus followed up his good form from Friday’s qualifying, by finishing ninth at the Ski Cross World Cup event at Phoenix Park in Korea.

After winning his Round of 32 Final, Grimus lined up against three Frenchmen in his Quarter Final, finishing third, in what was always going to be a tough challenge.

“No doubt I think they worked together, and so they should, but I had a really good run,” Grimus said.

“Ninth overall was a good move forward for me. I adapted well and felt comfortable in front of my skis, so I’m really looking forward to the next event in Arosa now.”

The men’s event was taken out by Bastien Midol of France.

Fellow OWIA/NSWIS athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim achieved her best result since returning from injury, finishing 14th overall in the Ladies event.

“I know it’s a step in the right direction and I am so ready now for Arosa,” Kennedy-Sim said.

The final was a tight affair, with reigning World Champion Andrea Limbacher claiming victory.

IMAGE: Anton Grimus in Korea

Kennedy-Sim makes successful return to Ski Cross

15/2/2016

Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA)/New South Wales Institute (NSWIS) of Sport athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim made her return to competitive racing from injury this weekend, at the double header Ski Cross World Cup event in Idre Fjall, Sweden.

After placing 24th on Saturday in the first race, Kennedy-Sim backed up on Sunday finishing third in her Eight Final, which saw her take 19th place overall.

After the two events, Kennedy-Sim said she was just pleased to be back competing.

“It has been tough watching from the sidelines, but I am happy with my return to competition,” Kennedy-Sim said.

“Not getting through the Eight Finals both days feels a bit like a kick to the shins, but I am feeling a bit rusty as I haven’t raced since December,” Kennedy-Sim added.

“My body feels ok after the two competitions and I am still having some issues with my leg, but it would be unrealistic to expect to be pain free just yet.”

Fellow OWIA/NSWIS athlete Anton Grimus qualified through the round of 64 heats for the Eight Finals on both days, eventually taking fourth place in each of his races, therefore missing out on a place in the Quarter Finals, with a 30th and 29th overall placing respectively.

Head Coach Shawn Fleming said the last half of the course in particular was straight with lots of jumps and rollers.

“The racing was very tight and exciting, with the most passing I have ever seen,” Fleming said.

“You needed to be perfect to maximise speed and being first was sometimes a disadvantage, as it was easy for athletes to work the draft and build momentum for the pass,” Fleming added.

“Anton’s heats were all close action and with passing, but at the end of the day others used the draft and capitalised on a couple mistakes and were able to beat him to the line.”

IMAGE: Sami Kennedy-Sim after returning on snow at the start of the month © Sami Kennedy-Sim Instagram

Grimus places 31st at Nakiska World Cup

24/1/2016

The course in Nakiska © Nakiska Ski Area

OWIA/NSWIS athlete Anton Grimus has finished in 31st place at the World Cup event in Nakiska, Canada.

Grimus finished in fourth place in his eight final; therefore missing out on advancing to the next round.

“The eight final didn’t go to plan,” Grimus said.

“I missed the start and was fighting for third position; it just wasn’t my day today,” he added.

Today’s result sees Grimus in 29th position overall on the Ski Cross World Cup standings.

The Ski Cross team will now head back to Europe for the next World Cup race in Arosa, Switzerland.

Sami Kennedy-Sim, is likely to miss the event in Arosa, her third straight World Cup, after suffering a crash in official training before the first World Cup event of 2016 in Watles, Italy,

Kennedy-Sim is aiming to return at the World Cup event in Idre, Sweden, on the 13th of February.

IMAGE: The course in Nakiska © Nakiska Ski Area

Grimus 24th overall after Watles Double Header

18/1/2016

Anton Grimus has dropped one spot to be ranked 24th overall after the FIS Ski Cross World Cup double header in Watles, Italy this past weekend.

After a season best seventh place in qualifying for race one, Grimus made a good start to his round of 32 heat, to be leading at the first turn.

After being pushed wide, Grimus lost speed through the major drag section and was overtaken, eventually crossing the line in third place, and finishing race one ranked 19th overall.

On Sunday, race two saw Grimus hold the yellow bib after progressing to the round of 32 heat, but he was able to win the start once again, and lead through the top half.

However, the other athletes were able to draft and all three passed on the long traverse, with Grimus eventually finishing fourth, and an overall place of 30th.

“It’s pretty frustrating because all the bits are coming together, especially with the start that I’ve been working on, and now the speed is coming through qualifying,” Grimus said.

“I feel for Anton because he is frustrated with missing great opportunities,” head coach Shawn Fleming said.

“It’s pretty frustrating as Anton had great starts but struggled to carry speed in the middle flat section,” Fleming added.

Sami Kennedy-Sim, ranked tenth in the world prior to Watles, did not compete this weekend after crashing prior to training during the lead-up to the Watles double header. Kennedy-Sim is recovering well and said she hopes to be back on the skis soon.

“I had a big crash before training,” Kennedy-Sim said. “I have some bruises and strains, but hope to be back skiing soon.”

IMAGE: Anton Grimus leading in a heat race in Watles © FIS

Day 2 at Val Thorens

13/12/2015

Anton Grimus (left) racing in Val Thorens © FIS

At the second Ski Cross World Cup in Val Thorens in France over the weekend, Sami Kennedy-Sim had to settle for 13th after finishing fourth in her round of 16, missing the semi-finals for the first time this season.

However, Kennedy-Sim’s consistency in making the head-to-head finals cut this season has pleased her support team.

Anna Holmlund stepped up to make it two wins in two tries in the second of back-to-back Audi ski cross World Cup races.

“Not as awesome today,” Sami wrote. “had to settle for 13th. Bring on Italy.”

Fellow OWIA/NSWIS athlete Anton Grimus was knocked out of the competition in the round of 32 finishing in 20th place.

The next round will be in Innichen, Italy, next weekend.

Sami makes small final again

12/12/2015

IMAGE: Sami Kennedy-Sim (middle) battling her opponents in the air at Val Thorens © FIS

Sami Kennedy-Sim has backed up her sixth place at the opening round of the Ski Cross World Cup last weekend in Austria with a seventh place in Val Thorens in France.

The OWIA/NSWIS athlete produced a series of good races across the day to once again prove that she is within touch of a podium result.

The gold medal went to Sweden’s Anna Holmlund, the defending World Cup champion, with fellow Swede Sandra Naeslund taking the silver, with third place going to French veteran Ophelie David.

Fellow OWIA athlete, Anton Grimus, finished the day in 21st position in the men’s race, which was won by Canadian skier Christopher Delbosca. Slovenian Filip Flisar took the silver while another Canadian Brady Leman finished with the bronze.

OWIA Sport Programs Update - Ski Cross

7/10/2015

Sami Kennedy-Sim trained with OWIA/NSWIS Ski Cross Coach Shawn Fleming in NSW throughout the domestic ski season and also worked part time for NSWIS, assisting Peter Topalovic with the operation of the NSWIS Winter Sports Program. Anton Grimus trained predominantly at Mt Buller so that he could support his family business, and travelled to NSW for training camps as required.

Anton Grimus had success at the Ski Cross events which took place at Mt Hotham in early August and September. From three competition starts Anton recorded two victories and one second place result.

Sami Kennedy-Sim took park in the September races in Mt Hotham, with a first and second place performance.

The Ski Cross team will travel to Europe in mid-October and set up a base in Austria for pre-season training before the first World Cup event of the season takes place in early December.

Grimus in season best 7th & and Kennedy-Sim 10th

9/2/2015

OWIA/NSWIS ski cross athletes Anton Grimus and Sami Kennedy-Sim have clinched top-10 finishes in the second World Cup event in Arosa, Switzerland.

Grimus improved his 17th placing from 24 hours earlier on day one of the fifth round of World Cup season by qualifying in fourth fastest time, winning his first knock out final and quarter final , before finishing in third place in the semi-finals and the consolation final.

Grimus was unlucky to miss a spot in the final after he was edged out in a photo finish that took a considerable amount of time to separate second and third places.

Unfortunately for the Australian, Frenchman Jean Frederic Chapius, an Olympic and World Championships gold medallist, advanced to the final ahead of Grimus after judges examined the photo finish.

The strong performance saw Grimus finish in seventh overall, his best result since the World Championships in Norway two years ago, while his OWIA/NSWIS teammate, Kennedy-Sim, was 10th.

The women’s event was won by Swiss skier Fanny Smith, with Swede Anna Holmlund second and Russian Sofia Smirnova in third.

Sweden’s Victor Oehling Norberg won the men’s ahead of Russian Sergey Ridzik and German Daniel Bohnacker in second and third.

“All in all I was pretty happy with the result,” Grimus said. “It’s good to see that things are moving in the right direction.”

Kennedy-Sim said she was aiming to better her eighth place from day one, however, “I’ll take a top 10 whenever I can get one.”

“This is both disappointing and motivating. I’m now looking forward to Are (Sweden) and putting it down on a different track,” Kennedy-Sim said.

The Arosa event was the second of six races in three weeks. The squad now journeys to Sweden for next weekend’s event.

Coach Shawn Fleming described the squad’s performances as a “great weekend – three top 10 finishes from two athletes”.

“It is a step in the right direction, for sure,” Fleming said.

“We talked last night about changing the tactics and it really worked in Anton’s favour.

“The tactic would have worked in the small final as well but the two Canadians who qualified first and second ended up in the same final and they worked together as a team which was an advantage.

“Anton was very happy to get through and have a full day of skiing.”

IMAGE: Anton Grimus racing in Arosa

Aussies positive despite crashing out

18/2/2014

Katya Crema of Australia celebrates in the Freestyle Skiing Womens' Ski Cross © Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Australia’s two male hopes in Ski Cross were bundled out in the 1/8 Finals, after crashing on the course at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Day 13. It seemed like every race had a crash and for the Australians luck was not on their side. The event was a clean sweep for the French team. World champion Jean Frederic Chapius led for most of the Big Final and hung on to win the Gold. Arnaud Bovolenta skied to Silver and Jonathan Midol the Bronze. Canadian Brady Leman crashed out near the bottom of the course pushing hard to make up ground and finished fourth.

Racing in Heat 2, Australian hope Scott Kneller had a slow start but positioned himself well in the field looking for opportunities to pass before crashing halfway through the race on a tight turn.

Kneller recovered to finish the race in third place, but with only two out of each heat going through to the next stage, his Sochi Olympic campaign was over. Earlier in the day he was ranked 24th after the seeding run.

Just competing at these Games is an achievement for the 24-year-old, after a serious training crash in December.

He spent three days in hospital with concussion and four broken vertebra and after intense treatment and gym work passed a medical test to take part in the event last Monday.

“The backs feeling good actually,” Kneller, who placed seventh at the event’s Olympic debut in 2010, said.

“It was a bit sore but nothing crazy, just to be able to come out and do that is incredible. I’m feeling all right and just happy to be here.

“I thought I skied pretty well and I was competitive it was tough being behind. I had speed but you couldn’t pass in the soft snow. It made it a little bit challenging to be behind and I had a shocking start but I can walk away from this one with a smile on my face.”

Teammate Grimus took to the course following Kneller in Heat 3.

After kicking off the day with a blistering seeding run where he placed 5th out of the 31 competitors, Grimus had a slow start on the track.

The Victorian’s Olympic debut then came unstuck with a crash towards the end of the twisty obstacle course, finishing the heat in fourth place.

The 23-year-old said the sport was unpredictable.

“I got out to a shocker start and then look I fought back and the top I probably went a bit too soon and then down the bottom at the first cut-out I sort of made my move and they made their move back,” he said.

“That’s Ski Cross really. You can’t win everything.”

Grimus said Australian women’s Ski Cross competitors Jenny Owens, Sami Kennedy-Sim and Katya Crema, could learn from the men’s mistakes on the course.

“It’s a tough track out there and everything’s possible. I’m not sure what the conditions are doing but they can gauge a lot out of the race today,” he said.

“Good jumps ... it was fun, really fun.”

For Kneller, competing in a sport he loves, at the Olympics was enough.

“It was such a big achievement for me to come here and be semi-competitive,” he said.

“It’s just unfortunate it didn’t pay out in the end.

“I gave it a red hot go and just juiced it a little far on that bottom triple.

“I had a great time and it’s just good to be here and skiing in the sunshine and doing what I love it’s good times.”

For now, Kneller is headed back to the University of New South Wales to finish his Engineering/Commerce degree.

“My body needs a rest. It’s been a pretty intense couple of months. I could do with a bit of R and R,” he said.

“We’ll just see where things take me but I’m going to take a break from skier cross for a while. So it should be good.”

For Grimus, two years worth of bushy beard will be getting the shave on Saturday, raising money for the Rob Kneller Foundation.

The Foundation was set up by Scott Kneller and his brother Luke, in memory of their father Rob, who passed away in April.

The aim is to provide young children in their home town of Jindabyne, NSW, the chance to take up Skiing.

Grimus has already raised about $14,000 and said he’s already given the honour of shaving it to his ski technician Marcus Ruiz-Navarro.

“He does a good job with my skis. He makes those edges sharp ... I can trust him for sure.”

Kneller said he was looking forward to seeing a shaven Grimus.

“It’s just unreal I can’t thank him enough for that, it’s quite incredible with his generosity. I’m looking forward to it I haven’t seen him without his beard for quite some time. He’ll be like a totally different man!”

The women’s Ski Cross will be held on Day 14 of the Olympics, with seeding starting at 18:45 (AEDT).

Annie Kearney | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Owens’ strong finale

24/1/2014

Olympic skier Jenny Owens on the slopes of New Zealand. © Jenny Owens

Australian Institute of Sport/NSW Institute of Sport skier Jenny Owens ended her World Cup career today after 101 starts and 14 years on the tour with her best result since December 2012.

The former alpine skier turned ski cross athlete, who will represent Australia for the third time at next month’s Sochi Olympic Winter Games, closed her World Cup career with a 15th place in Kreischberg, Austria.

The event, which is the last ski cross World Cup before the Sochi Games, was won by Frenchwoman Ophelie David, with Swiss skier Fanny Smith second and Canadian Marielle Thompson third.

The men’s event was won Switzerland’s Alex Fiva, ahead of Austrian Johannes Rohrweck in the silver medal position and Michael Schmid from Switzerland picking up bronze.

Today marked the 52nd time Owens has lined up in a World Cup ski cross event since debuting in January 2006, the second phase of her long World Cup career, which started in St Moritz, Switzerland in December 1999.

In other results for AIS/NSWIS athletes competing in Kreischberg, Anton Grimus was 14th, Katya Crema 16th and Sami Kennedy-Sim 24th.

With just 12 days before the start of the Sochi Games AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons described his squad’s results as “encouraging.”

“The results today were not too bad, definitely an improvement, and yes I would say it was encouraging,” Lyons said.

Lyons added that he was particularly pleased the performance of Grimus, Owens and Crema in the first knock out final, with the two women crossing the line in second place and Grimus first, earning the trio a spot in the quarter finals.

Kennedy-Sim was unable to repeat the form that saw her finish in 4th place last weekend in Val Thorens, France, and did not progress past the first final.

Grimus, Kennedy-Sim and Crema will continue their Olympic Winter Games preparation by competing in a Europa Cup event before a final training camp leading into Sochi.

Sochi teammate and NSWIS athlete, Cameron Bolton, finished fifth in the snowboard cross final at the prestigious X Games in Aspen, USA, yesterday (Australian time).

Bolton was just 0.826 seconds behind event winner Nate Holland from America in a field that boasted some of the best snowboard cross riders in the world.

Kennedy-Sim's career best

17/1/2014

The AIS Ski Cross Team in Val Thorens

Australian ski cross athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim fought her way from 30th in qualifying to narrowly miss a podium finish in today’s last World Cup before the cut-off date for next month’s Sochi Olympic Winter Games.

Competing in Val Thorens, France, the Australian Institute of Sport/NSW Institute of Sport scholarship holder ended the day with the best World Cup result of her career and her first appearance in a World Cup final, behind the winning Canadian Marielle Thompson, Switzerland’s Katrin Mueller in second and Frenchwoman Ophelie David in third.

Kennedy-Sim finished fourth overall to record a confidence boosting result, with just 20 days to go to the opening of the Sochi Games in Russia and two days before the Sochi qualification cut-off date.

Although Kennedy-Sim was 3.8 seconds slower than the fastest qualifier, which put her in the last few places to make the 32-woman finals draw, Kennedy-Sim displayed determination and impressive speed throughout day two of the double header in France.

She skied strategically in the first knock-out round and again in the quarter finals before turning on an even more impressive performance in the semi-finals, finishing second to Thompson and earning a place in her first World Cup final.

Kennedy-Sim recaptured the form that enabled her to finish the 2011/2012 season with a world ranking of 11 and was headed towards second place in the final but unfortunately she went wide on the last turn before the finish line, which washed off precious speed.

With just 200 metres to race, Kennedy-Sim was overtaken for a place on the podium but she retains the confidence from bettering her previous best place in World Cup, a fifth in Canada in February 2012.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons said that Kennedy-Sim's performance was a strong result.

“She can take a lot of confidence away from the day. She started each of her heats well. She was pretty much the fastest out in every heat and skied the top section really aggressively and really well.

"She maintained her position when she was being challenged by others. She did a good job.”

Fellow AIS/NSWIS squad members Jenny Owens was 23rd and Katya Crema was 26th, with both athletes unable to go further into the draw than the first final.

Crema was unlucky not to progress to the quarter finals, given that she was in a position to finish second in her heat, but she was passed by two athletes within a metre from the line, dropping the AIS/NSWIS skier back to fourth spot.

Owens missed the start in her heat and misjudged her speed with two jumps, pushing her down to third place in the heat, outside the top two places needed to advance to the next round.

Another AIS/NSWIS athlete, Australia’s only male in the event, Anton Grimus, who was the fastest qualifier on day one, was 17th after finishing third in a knock-out final.

The men’s event was won by American John Teller, while Sweden’s Victor Oehling Norberg was second and third going to Canadian David Duncan.

The squad will continue their World Cup season in Kreischberg, Austria, next weekend.

Grimus unable to build on qualification result

17/1/2014

Anton Grimus at the bib draw in Val Thorens

Australian Institute of Sport/NSW Institute of Sport ski cross athlete Anton Grimus was unable to capitalise on setting the fastest time in the qualification session in Val Thorens, France, when he finished the weather-affected World Cup in 17th place today.

Grimus’s fastest qualification result, which was the first time in his World Cup career he has achieved that distinction, placed the bearded Australian into race one of the four-man knock out finals with the sought after bib number 1, pitted against three Swiss skiers.

But unfortunately Grimus crossed the line in third, with only the first two advancing to the quarter finals.

Grimus challenged for the lead in the heat but after being checked, which negatively impacted the Australian’s speed, he was not able to fight his way back to the front.

Severe winds and snow brought the day to a halt soon after, with the event being stopped after the last of the men’s quarter finals was decided.

Organisers had no alternative but to combine the first final and the quarter final places with qualification session results to form an overall finishing order.

Canadian Christopher Delbosco, who finished second to Grimus in qualifying, was awarded the win, ahead of German Daniel Bohnacker and Swede Victor Oehling Norberg in third.

In the women’s event, AIS/NSWIS athletes Sami Kennedy-Sim and Katya Crema improved on their qualification results by finishing the day in 19th and 21st. Jenny Owens did not qualify.

Switzerland’s Sanna Luedi won, ahead of Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund in second and Austrian Katrin Ofner in third.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons believes that the wind, more so than heavy snow, was the main problem that caused the abandonment of the event.

Lyons said that winds reached 80 km/h but more importantly the wind was gusting directly behind athletes leaving the start gate, causing athletes difficulties in gauging speeds going into jumps and features.

So unpredictable was the wind that it caused all four athletes to crash in one of the heats.

The Australian squad competes again tomorrow in the second stage of the double header. The event will be the last ski cross World Cup before the Sochi Olympic Winter Games in Russia next month.

Challenging weekend for ski cross squad

23/12/2013

Australia’s ski cross athletes Anton Grimus and Sami Kennedy-Sim were encouraged by qualifying for the finals of the World Cup at Innichen / San Candido, Italy, today.

Grimus was leading the first final when he was muscled out of position and after regaining balance, he gave himself an opportunity to finish in the first two places, which was needed to advance to the next round, when he fought back towards the front of the pack.

Unfortunately Grimus lost further ground when he ran wide on a turn and was unable to recover.

Grimus finished the day in 23rd, behind winner David Duncan from Canada, while Austrian Andreas Matt was second and Germany’s Daniel Bohnacker was third.

The women’s event was won by Swiss skier Katrin Mueller, Canadian Marielle Thompson was second and German Heidi Zacher was third.

Kennedy-Sim was 27th while fellow AIS / NSWIS athletes Katya Crema was 34th and Jenny Owens was 36th.

The fifth squad member, Scott Kneller, did not compete due to suffering concussion and a back injury in training before the qualification session.

Kneller was taken to the Bolzano Trauma Centre in Italy, 270 km from Milan, where he is expected to remain for at least another 24 hours for further observation.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons said that he expects Kneller to make a full recovery but he is likely to miss four to six weeks of competition.
Lyons said it was too early to say if the injury would rule Kneller out of the Sochi Olympic Winter Games in Russia in February.

Crema back racing

21/12/2013

Katya Crema at Innichen / San Candido

Ski cross athlete Katya Crema finished in 21st place in the Innichen / San Candido World Cup in Italy, today, confirming that she has recovered from knee soreness which kept her out of the first events of the season.

After qualifying for the finals in 28th place, the AIS / NSWIS skier finished in third place in a knock out final and with only the first two advancing to the quarter finals, the Australian’s day came to an end.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons said he was pleased that Crema was competing again and that she will go into tomorrow’s second stage of the double header at Innichen / San Candido with even more confidence, knowing that the injury is behind her.

Fellow AIS / NSWIS athletes Jenny Owens and Sami Kennedy-Sim were unable to qualify for the finals, finishing in 33rd and 36th respectively after the qualification session.

In the men’s draw, Anton Grimus and Scott Kneller were 38th and 44th after the qualification session, with only the fastest 32 progressing to the finals.

The ski cross squad has the opportunity to improve on these results tomorrow.

Today’s women’s event was won by Switzerland’s Fanny Smith, ahead of Canadian Kelsey Serwa and Swede Anna Holmuld in third.

The men’s was won by Canadian David Duncan, followed by Swiss Alex Fiva and another Canadian Brady Leman in the bronze medal place.

Tough day for ski cross squad

14/12/2013

Sami-Kennedy-Sim getting some nice air (second from right) in Val Thorens

Australia’s ski cross squad battled hard in the Val Thorens World Cup in France yesterday, with AIS/NSWIS skiers Jenny Owens, Sami Kennedy-Sim and Scott Kneller qualifying for the finals.

Unfortunately each was unable to advance further than the first round of the knock out finals.

Owens ended the day overall in 18th, Kennedy-Sim in 21st and Kneller in 30th.

Anton Grimus was 35th after his qualification run was affected by weather conditions.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons said that the squad was not able to match the required intensity from the podium finishing athletes.

“Sami and Scott had opportunities from the front in their heats but underestimated their competition and allowed a couple of passes that they were not able to rectify and pull back,” Lyons said.
"Jenny was not as good over the first feature as she had been in training and was not able to move from third in her round.”

Katya Crema, who missed the event with knee soreness, hopes to compete for the first time this season when the squad heads to Innichen/San Candido in Italy on December 21 and 22.

Owens best in opening World Cup

6/12/2013

Australia’s ski cross squad has commenced their international campaign, competing in the opening World Cup of the season in Nakiska, Canada. The event took place is extremely cold conditions, which forced the event organisers to only run one of the planned two events at the location.

AIS scholarship holder Jenny Owens gave herself a confidence boosting 16th place, her best result since December 2012.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons said that Owens performance “was a pretty good result.”

Fellow AIS skier Sami Kennedy-Sim qualified for the finals but was unable to progress further than the first race, leaving her in
30th place, while in the men’s event AIS athlete Anton Grimus was 19th.

Scott Kneller did not qualify for the finals and Katya Crema missed the event with knee soreness.

Canada’s Marielle Thompson won the women’s race, followed by Swiss Fanny Smith and Frenchwoman Ophelie David picking up the bronze medal.

France’s Jonas Devouassoux took out the men’s, with Switzerland’s Armin Niederer and Canada’s Brady Leman in second and third.

All systems go

3/12/2013

Australia’s ski cross squad has used a “back to basics” approach as the centrepiece of their strategy to prepare for the most important World Cup season in four years, which starts with a double-header in Nakiska, Canada, on December 6 and 7.

While every World Cup series comes with high expectations, this season has added importance for Australian Institute of Sport skiers Scott Kneller, Anton Grimus, Katya Crema, Jenny Owens and Sami Kennedy-Sim given it leads into the Sochi Olympic Winter Games in February.

Not only are World Cup results integral to the Sochi qualification process, which cuts off on January 20, AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons knows that strong results on the tour may also carry through into the sport’s pinnacle event.

Despite the importance of the Olympic Winter Games, Lyons has not changed that much of his squad’s off-season preparation for this season compared with previous years.

“We determined at the outset that we would go back to basics,” Lyons said this week.

“We wanted to focus on the key elements of the sport, which are good skiing, good starts and good physical preparation. Those are the main three elements.

“However, it is worth acknowledging the fact that we are going into an Olympic year and it’s a big year and the challenges are there before us.

“We need to embrace those challenges and basically recognise that this is what we are here for.”

Lyons said that he is confident the squad has achieved almost all of his expectations throughout the off season training.

“We are all feeling like it is time to get going,” he said.

“We have done almost everything I wanted to get done during the preceding six to eight months.

“We tweaked a couple of things and got a lot of skiing in. Everybody is fit and healthy, which is a good start.”

However, Lyons added that he will have to wait until after the first event to gauge the progress of each of his protégés.

“Everybody does all the hard work and everybody does all the training but you never know until you get in that World Cup environment,” he said.

“We’ve had a couple of time trials but it is really difficult to recreate the pressure and intensity required at a World Cup, particularly when you also overlay the qualification pressures.

“We’ve still got seven qualification events before Sochi. We’re definitely far from home and hosed. Everybody still has to perform.

“Although it should be said that we’re not really focused on the Olympics part of our season just yet. It’s a day at a time.”

Officially the freestyle World Cup season started in August with slopestyle and halfpipe events in Cardrona, NZ, but this weekend marks the first stage of the Northern Hemisphere part of the calendar.

Ski Cross international season preparation update

9/10/2013

In late June a training camp took place in Cardrona, New Zealand for AIS athletes Katya Crema, Jenny Owens and Scott Kneller to focus on snow skills training including setting up a strong alpine turn.

The AIS Ski Cross Program commenced their domestic season training and equipment testing in July at the Perisher Ski Resort. Wax Technician Marcos Ruiz Navarro visited Australia for three weeks to conduct equipment testing and ski selection. The Perisher camp also proved valuable for working on start gate technique and jumping.

Mt Hotham hosted the Australian National Championships in mid-August. However, the finals were cancelled due to poor weather and results were determined by qualifying times. AIS scholarship holder Katya Crema was crowned Australian National Champion after winning both qualifying races while team mate Samantha Kennedy-Sim came in third place overall. AIS scholarship holder Anton Grimus was the best performed Australian male finishing in fifth place in race two of the event.

The team returned to New Zealand in late August to continue on-snow training. The first block involved visiting the club fields of New Zealand’s Southern Alps and skiing off-piste terrain where there is no grooming or chairlifts.

The month of September saw training in New Zealand continue with focus on hard snow alpine technique at various resorts including Mt Hutt (upper-G and GS training), Roundhill (Ski Cross specific turn shape training) and Cardrona (Two weeks of Ski cross tracking training alongside Snowboard Cross teams from Australia, Canada and America).

The AIS Ski Cross Team is currently preparing for an on-snow training camp at one of Europe’s many glacier based resorts. The final location is yet to be finalised following warmer conditions affecting some glacier options.

All athletes are healthy, happy and raring to go!

March 18th, 2013

18/3/2013

Australia’s Katya Crema has finished eighth on day two at the ski cross World Cup in Are, Sweden, having made it through the knock-out rounds to the consolation final in her final race of the northern hemisphere season.

It was another encouraging result by the Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athlete, who’s season results include eighth in the World Championships earlier this month and three top 10 World Cup places.

Fellow AIS / NSWIS squad member and World Cup winner Scott Kneller also recorded an encouraging result by finishing 14th, his best performance since last December, when he placed seventh in Innichen / San Candido, Italy.

Kneller, who has been effected by a virus for the last month, showed signs of returning to the form he is capable of with the 13th best time in the qualification session in Are, a win in the round of 32 before a racing incident ended his day in the quarter finals.

Frenchman Jean Frederic Chapuis won the event, followed by Armin Niederer from Switzerland and France’s Sylvain Miailler in third.
The women’s final saw Swiss skiers, Fanny Smith and Katrin Mueller, occupy first and third places while Canadian Marielle Thompson secured the silver medal.

AIS ski cross head coach Matt Lyons said he was pleased with the results of Crema, Kneller, world number 12 Anton Grimus, who finished in 20th place despite the after-effects of a crash the previous day, and Sami Kennedy-Sim, who was 19th and unlucky not to make the finals.

“It was a pretty good day today,” Lyons said.

“Katya fought really hard with some good passing to get there but there were some good signs for the future for all of them.

“Scott skied a lot better than he has for the last month. His first round was really good and aggressive, which was the Scotty we saw in December and the Scotty we want to see in the future.”

On the first day of competition in Are, Anton Grimus was 14th, Scott Kneller 19th, Katya Crema 15th and Sami Kennedy Sim was 23rd.

With only Kennedy-Sim competing in the last World Cup ski cross of the season in Sierra Nevada, Spain, next Sunday, Lyons has started his review of the season and believes that each of the squad members has improved in a number of key areas.

“The standard has increased across the board and they have managed to keep pace with that, and depending on who you are talking about, some have improved on that.

“The sport is growing and it is definitely getting tougher at the top. Anybody in the top 32 for the men can win on a given day and anybody in the top 20 with the girls can do the same.

“There are definitely some positives and obviously we have a lot of work to do and we’ll get stuck into that as soon as they have had their break.

“They have a couple of weeks of not too much and then a couple of weeks of unstructured activity and then they’ll get back into the gym.”

Lyons also said that Australia’s domestic season will play an important part in their build up to Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games, and a full World Cup program starting towards the end of this year.

Australian ski cross squad's solid performance

11/3/2013

Australians Anton Grimus and Katya Crema reaffirmed that they are closing the gap between themselves and the top echelon of ski cross athletes when they both delivered their best ever results in a World Championships in Voss, Norway.

Grimus made it through to the consolation final of the year’s most important event, finishing in seventh overall, while Crema was eighth, which is a massive improvement on the 17th and 26th places in the other World Championships she has contested.

France took the first two places in the men’s final with Jean Frederic Chapuis winning his first world title, ahead of Bastien Midol and American John Teller in the bronze medal position.

The women’s final was won by Switzerland’s Fanny Smith, with Canada’s Marielle Thompson second and Frenchwoman and former World Champion Ophelie David in third.

The three other Australians – Scott Kneller, Sami Kennedy-Sim and Jenny Owens – also qualified for the finals, providing the squad with their best collective result of the season.

Each of the five Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athletes adapted well to the fast and technical course, recording encouraging times in the qualification session.

Grimus, who has been regularly fast in qualification throughout the season, was eighth quickest in a group of athletes all within 0.5 of a second behind top qualifier Jouni Pellinen.

Grimus retained his speed in the round of 32, finishing in second place, to advance to the quarter finals.

Up against Switzerland’s world number one Alex Fiva, Pellinen and Germany’s Daniel Bohnacker, a World Cup winner, Grimus showed why he is constantly gaining respect among his peers when he crossed the line in second place, earning a spot in the semis.

Grimus again encountered Pellinen and the defending World Champion Christopher Delbosco from France and Midol.

Although Grimus tried every trick in his book, the limited passing opportunities on this course played a major role in preventing the Australian from qualifying for the medal round.

Much the same passing issues were again experienced in the consolation final, with Grimus having to be content with third place in his last race of the day.

Despite having a season interrupted with a minor injury, Kneller showed clear signs of returning to form and was unlucky not to progress to the quarters, having placed third in the round of 32.

Crema posted the ninth fastest time in the qualification session, she won her round of 32, but was unable to progress further than the quarter finals. Although she did not make the semis, her finishing position was elevated one place due to the disqualification of Swiss skier Katrin Mueller. Both Grimus and Crema began their careers as alpine ski racers at the Mt Buller Race Club.

The championships also saw a return to form of Kennedy-Sim, who finished last year with a world ranking of 11, however, she had not been able to reproduce that form until Voss.

Kennedy-Sim finished in 16th place and is now looking for a strong finish to this season.

Jenny Owens’ tough season continued when she crashed in her round of 32 final and did not finish.

The squad now turns their attention to a World Cup double header in Are, Sweden, on March 16 and 17 before all squad members, except Kennedy-Sim, return to Australia for a two week break and then commence their build up for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games in Russia.

Kennedy-Sim will compete in the season's final event in Spain at the end of March.

Grimus recaptures form in Olympic test

20/2/2013

Australian athlete Anton Grimus enjoyed a World Cup career equalling best qualifying result and a fourth place in the consolation final in the ski cross test event for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games in Russia today.

The 22-year-old Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athlete set up a solid performance in the last freestyle skiing test event in Sochi by recording convincing wins in the round of 32 and a quarter final before finishing fourth in a semi-final.

With only the first two places from the semis qualifying for the final, Grimus had to be content with a place in the consolation final, in which he was fourth, ending the day in eight place overall.

The result enabled Grimus to retain his world ranking of 13.

The event, the ninth round on this season’s World Cup tour, was won by Swede Victor Oehling Norberg, Canadian Christopher Delbosco was second while German Andreas Schauer was third.

Grimus finished the Olympic test event full of confidence and with a number of areas to focus on for the rest of the World Cup season and to create a place in the Australian Winter Olympics team competing in Sochi next year.

Several of his World Cup results this season, and particularly his impressive qualifying time today, have encouraged the Australian to look to next February’s Sochi Games with optimism.

“I can be confident that a medal is within reach,” Grimus said.

“I’ve have had a few good results this season and I’ve got things to work on. It’s good knowing that I have room for improvement.”

While winning his first two races of the day was encouraging, perhaps the highlight of his appearance in Sochi was the way he revelled in the fresh overnight snow with the second fastest qualifying time, stopping the clock at 1:18.49, just 0.38 of a second slower than today’s overall winner.

Grimus said he was “stoked, really happy” with the qualifying result.

“The last four weeks have been tough with qualifying. I knew I had it in me,” he added.

“I definitely feel I have improved but I wasn’t on the podium today so there is definitely room for further improvement.”
Australia’s number one male ski cross athlete, Scott Kneller, who has helped with the mentoring of Grimus, joined his protégé in the knock-out finals after qualifying in 26th place.

But Kneller fell at the last bank in his first final while pushing hard for the lead, which cost him the opportunity to advance to the quarter finals. Kneller finished the day in 28th place.

Katya Crema was the day’s leading Australian woman, finishing in 11th place after showing a clean pair of skis to her opponents in the round of 32.

Unfortunately for the AIS / NSWIS skier, her winning ways did not continue and she finished the day when she placed third in the quarters.

AIS /NSWIS athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim made it four out of four Australian ski cross squad members to qualify for the finals, which emphasised the determination the squad has shown while in Sochi to turn around a difficult few weeks on the tour.

Kennedy Sim’s appearance in the finals gave her a 27th place overall.

The fifth squad member, Jenny Owens, did not start due to soreness.

The women’s event was a one-two finish for Canadians Kelsey Serwa and Marielle Thompson, with Switzerland’s Fanny Smith in third.

Owens is Australia’s best performer

4/2/2013

The Australian Ski Cross team in Grasgehren

Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athlete Katya Crema has retained her top 20 world ranking after finishing in 26th place at the eighth round of the ski cross World Cup in Germany.

Competing in the second day of a double-header in Grasgehren, which saw the first day cancelled due to weather conditions, the five member ski cross squad were hoping to record higher results but had a day that fell below expectation.

Jenny Owens finished 21st, three places ahead of fellow AIS / NSWIS skier Sami Kennedy-Sim.

Frenchwoman Ophelie David recorded her 25th World Cup victory, ahead of German Christina Manhard and France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel picked up the bronze medal.

In the men’s draw, AIS / NSWIS skier Anton Grimus also missed the finals when he was 52st in qualifying and 51st overall.

Czech Tomas Kraus was first across the line in the final, followed by Canadian Tristan Tafel and third placed Swede Victor Oehling Norberg.

Frustrations for ski cross squad

17/1/2013

Katya Crema - middle - in action at the World Cup in Megeve IMAGE British Ski Cross

Australian ski cross athlete Katya Crema was the best performer among the five squad members when she finished 15th in the World Cup event in Megeve, France.

With all three of the Aussie female Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athletes qualifying for the finals, expectation were strong but overall results at the end of the day were not as positive.

Jenny Owens’ finished with an overall result of 25th, after starting the day with a season equal best 12th fastest qualifying time.

Sami Kennedy Sim was 18th fastest in qualifying but had to settle for 27th overall.

Owens and Kennedy Sim were knocked out of the event in the round of 32 while Crema finished a comfortable 2nd before going out in her quarter final.

To add to the squad’s difficulties, Australia’s number one male ski cross athlete, Scott Kneller, injured an ankle and will fly back to Australia for further examinations and treatment.

The injury occurred during training when Kneller caught an edge of his ski and fell.

It is not known if his ankle will prevent him from competing in the next stop of the World Cup circuit, in Grasgehren, Germany, on February 2.

Anton Grimus, a podium finisher in Nakiska, Canada, in his first World Cup event of the season in December, had a day he would like to forget posting a 54th placing.

The men’s event was won by American John Teller, with Fin Jouni Pellinen in second and Swiss skier Armin Niederer in third.

The women’s event was won by Germany’s Anna Woerner, ahead of Canadian and World Champion Kelsey Serwa and Frenchwoman Ophelie David in third.

Kennedy-Sim makes first final of the season in Les Contamines

13/1/2013

Ski cross athletes Anton Grimus and Sami Kennedy-Sim qualified for the quarter finals of the World Cup in Les Contamines, France, today but both were unable to progress further in a tough day at the office for Australia’s five member squad.

Kennedy-Sim has struggled this season to continue the form that enabled her to finish the 2011/2012 season with a world ranking of 11 but today she showed definite signs that things are improving.

The Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport skier was 13th fastest in qualifying, earning a place in the quarter finals.

But unfortunately the fifth round of World Cup competition finished at that point when she did not finish the race.

Kennedy-Sim ended the day in 14th place behind Austria’s Andrea Limbacher, Sweden’s Anna Holmlund in second and Switzerland’s Fanny Smith making up the last podium position.

AIS / NSWIS athletes Katya Crema and Jenny Owens missed the cut with their qualifying times.

Grimus, who is enjoying a career best World Cup season, qualified for the first of the elimination finals by posting the 30th fastest time in qualifying.

He skied an aggressive and smart race to cross the line in the first final only to finish fourth in the quarters, making him ineligible to advance to the semi-finals. He placed 16th overall and still retains his top .10 ranking.

Scott Kneller qualified for the finals in 22nd place but could not finish any higher than third in his elimination race, ending his hopes of going deeper in the draw. He finished in 21st place overall.

The men’s event was won by Switzerland’s Alex Fivas, while Slovakian Filip Flisar and Czech Tomas Kraus were second and third.

The squad will quickly regroup for their next World Cup event in Megeve, France, on Wednesday January 16.

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