Sami Kennedy-Sim will head into her third Olympic Games full of confidence, after finishing in fifth place at the World Cup competition in Idre Fjall, Sweden, the final ski cross event before the athletes arrive in Beijing.

In the first of two events at the Swedish resort, Kennedy-Sim won the small final on day one to achieve her best of the 2021-2022 World Cup season. Also in action for Australia was Doug Crawford who finished in 41st position.

On day two, Kennedy-Sim finished in 13th place, with Crawford in 40th.

Aussie athletes competed in a wild Ski Cross World Cup double header event in Nakiska, Canada, which featured tricky conditions and crashes throughout the day.

Sami Kennedy-Sim finished 22nd on day one before improving to 14th on day two, while on the men’s side Doug Crawford finished with results of 48th and 45th, just ahead of compatriot Alfred Wenk in 51st and 54th in his World Cup debut.

The “Cross Alps” stretch of the Ski Cross World Cup season continued over the past week, with events in Arosa, Switzerland, and Innichen, Italy.

Dual Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim was best placed of the Australian contingent at Arosa, finishing 19th, with Robbie Morrison and Doug Crawford finishing 58th and 59th respectively on the men’s side. During the event Morrison exacerbated a previous knee injury, which has forced him to return to Australia for treatment.

In Innichen, Kennedy-Sim was unable to compete after suffering a back injury in Arosa, leaving Doug Crawford as the sole competitor for Australia.

Crawford finished in 54th in both events.

The Ski Cross World Cup tour will now be on a break, with the next event taking place in Nakiska, Canada, on January 13-15.

Snow Australia ski cross racer Doug Crawford has finished his World Cup season in the best possible way, recording a personal best 13th place in Reiteralm, Austria.

Crawford was in great form in qualifying, advancing to the finals in 16th place. 

In the round of 32, Crawford advanced in the top two to reach the quarter-final stage for the first time in his career.

Crawford crossed the line in fourth place in the quarter-final, giving him a a final ranking of 13th.

"Thirteenth at the Reiteralm World Cup, what a way to end the World Cup season", an excited Crawford posted after the race.

"Thank you to my sponsors, friends and family for the support during the challenging season, you guys are the best."

Crawford's teammate Robbie Morrison also competed, finishing in 44th place.

IMAGE: Doug Crawford (right) in the thick of the action in Reiteralm © Doug Crawford Instagram

After two strong performances to start the 2020-2021 ski cross World Cup season, Sami Kennedy-Sim has suffered an unfortunate injury in training in Val Thorens, France.

"Unfortunately I had a crash in training on Friday and dislocated my elbow", the two time Olympian and NSWIS scholarship athlete said on her Facebook Page.

"I am scheduled to see a specialist on Monday to review my re-location and assess the area further, providing us with more insight into my rehab and a timeline to get back racing."

"Thank you to the Val Thorens Medical team who looked after me so well and to my superstar physio Benny Pagett who has overseen the whole thing, providing me with great care and all the right information."

"Team work makes the dream work and I cant wait to get back in the start gate soon."

"Thank you for the messages of support in this crazy week of highs and lows."

Kennedy-Sim's teammate Doug Crawford was the only Australian to compete in Val Thorens, finishing in 33rd place in the first event, and 43rd in the second event.

The ski cross World Cup tour is currently scheduled to resume in Montafon, Austria, on January 15.

Doug Crawford competing in the previous World Cup in Arosa

Australian ski cross athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim has started the season strongly, with a bronze medal performance in the opening FIS World Cup event in Arosa, Switzerland.
 
The podium result is the second of the two-time Olympian’s career, and her first since a silver medal in February 2017.
 
The 32-year-old athlete was superb in qualifying, blitzing the field by 0.8 secs and advancing to the finals as the top seed for the first time in her career.
 
In night time finals action on the sprint course, Kennedy-Sim won her heats in the round of 32 and 16 and finished in second place in the semi-final to advance to the big final medal round.
 
In the big final, Kennedy Sim was third across the line behind event winter Alexandra Edebo of Sweden and Fanny Smith of Switzerland in second place.
 
“Racing under lights is always a blast and creates a great show and atmosphere” said Kennedy-Sim after the race.
 
“The sprint track means that the racing is super tight no matter if you qualify first or 32nd,”
 
“This means that any mistake you make will end your day. This race is all about keeping speed.”
 
“Our team has been working so hard to produce the skiing that I have done yesterday in qualifying and today, the perfect receptor is the open relationship between myself, my coach Shawn, my psych Stacy and my ski tech Latus.”
 
“Hopefully I have a good night sleep tonight as we race under lights again tomorrow.”
 
The second World Cup event takes place tomorrow morning Australian time in Arosa, before the athletes head to Val Thorens in France for another double World Cup this weekend.

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.”