Category: Katya Crema

January 30th, 2012

29/1/2012

Australian ski cross athlete Jenny Owens recorded one of the best performances of her career by finishing on the X Games podium for the first time in Aspen, USA, today.

Owens, who has four World Cup podium finishes to her name, grabbed third place behind Norwegian duo Marte Gjefsen and Hedda Berntsen in the invitation-only event for some of the world’s best winter sports athletes.

However, Owens' memorable day almost did not eventuate. Until just a few days ago, Owens was in two minds as to whether she would compete at the X Games.

Australian Institute of Sport ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons said that the AIS / NSWIS scholarship holder arrived at Aspen with mixed feelings about whether the X Games track would be suitable for her to race on, given that she had surgery less than 12 months ago.

She was prepared to pull out of the X Games if she had any doubts about the risks of the course and its possible effect on the ankle that underwent surgery.

“After looking carefully at the track and watching other athletes on the course, she came to the conclusion that the designers had toned things down and were focusing more on racing this year,” Lyons said.

“Up until then, she was not sure that she would compete but it all worked out in the end and Jenny is very excited by the result.

“With the X Games being such an important event, I’m sure Jenny’s confidence level will benefit a great deal from finishing third. This will only help her for the rest of the World Cup season and beyond.”

Owens’ teammate, Katya Crema finished 11th overall, after finishing the X Games consolation final in fifth place.

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PB for Katya in Les Contamines

16/1/2012

Australian ski cross athlete Katya Crema now has two reasons to hold fond memories of the French resort of Les Contamines.

The 23-year-old Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athlete yesterday recorded a career best World Cup finish at Les Contamines, the same mountain that launched her World Cup career in January 2008.

Crema finished in seventh place in the fifth ski cross event on the World Cup calendar, her best result in 33 World Cup starts.

The event was won by Switzerland’s Sanna Luedi, with the French duo of Alizee Baron and Ophelie David in second and third in the overall final.

After qualifying 15th, finishing second in a quarter final and fourth in a semi-final, Crema then endured some aggressive racing with Norwegian Marte Hoeie Gjefsen in the opening stage of the consolation final.

However, despite the contact, Crema held her nerve and race speed but crossed the line in third place and seventh overall, behind Hoeie Gjefsen and her teammate Hedda Berntsen, who won the consolation final.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons has been expecting Crema to make the finals this season but added that she’d had her share of bad luck so far, preventing the Australian from enjoying the results she is capable of achieving.

“Katya has trained very well all season and just needed some luck to go her way,” Lyons said.

“She was due to make a final and it’s a great result that it has happened.”

Australia’s most successful female World Cup ski cross athlete, Jenny Owens, delivered a strong qualifying run, stopping the clock as the 6th fastest, however, the unpredictability of ski cross took its toll in the quarter final, forcing the experienced Australian to miss the semis.

In other result from Les Contamines, Sami Kennedy-Sim finished 29th and Anton Grimus was 48th in the men’s competition, which was won by Switzerland’s Alex Fiva, Norway’s Didrik Bastian Juell in second and Canada’s Nick Zoricic in third.

The team now heads to Lenk, Switzerland, where they will train with the Swedish and Russian teams before heading to a Europa Cup event in Switzerland, where Kennedy-Sim finished third last year.

Sami's PB

12/1/2012

Australian ski cross athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim achieved a career best result today when she finished sixth in the World Cup event in Alpe d’Huez, France.

The 23-year-old Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport scholarship holder could not wipe the beaming smile from her face as she crossed the line in second place of the consolation final, giving her sixth overall in the third ski cross event of this season’s World Cup.

Her performance equaled the best result of any Australian ski cross athlete this season and saw Kennedy-Sim’s ranking jump from 23rd in the standings to 17th, joining team member Jenny Owens, currently ranked 14th, in the World’s top 20.

Today’s event was won by Switzerland’s Sanna Luedi, ahead of Canadian Marielle Thompson and Austrian Andrea Limbacher in third.

Kennedy-Sim’s elation of surpassing her previous best World Cup result, eighth at Canada’s Blue Mountain resort in February last year, overshadowed a race incident that put an immediate end to her hopes of winning the consolation final and finishing higher in the overall results.

After a solid start to the consolation final, Kennedy-Sim was tightly bunched with France’s Ophelie David and Norwegians Marte Hoeie Gjefsen and Julie Brendengen Jensen going into the first jump.

Jensen caught a ski edge on the rise of the jump, losing control and colliding mid-air with her compatriot and Kennedy-Sim, causing the three skiers to crash.

The Australian regained her composure quickly but had no chance of catching David who was the only athlete among the four unaffected by the incident, allowing the French woman to win the consolation final with ease.

However, Kennedy-Sim has already put the race mishap out her mind and has set her sights on another strong performance when the World Cup circuit moves to the French resort of Les Contamines on January 15.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons was also thrilled by Kennedy-Sims success and believes the impressive result is due to the athlete’s hard work and attention to detail with basic technique.

“This is a huge improvement compared to the previous two events this year,” Lyons said.

“She has worked extremely hard to get today’s result, although this is what we expect of her.

“The team has had to deal with a less than ideal preparation to the season because snow conditions have meant that we have not been able to train for long on hard snow.”

Twenty-one-year-old Anton Grimus delivered a season-best performance when he qualified for the finals and finished 23rd.

The men’s final was won by Slovenian Filip Flisar, with Canada’s reigning World Champion Christopher Delbosco in second and Sweden’s Lars Lewen picking up the bronze medal.

In other results for Australian ski cross athletes, Owens, who captured sixth place in round two at St Johann in Austria on January 8, was unfortunately unable to qualify for the quarter finals finishing in 17th, missing the cut by just one place and 1/100th of a second.

Ski wax selection appeared to prevent Owens from continuing her good form from Austria.

Meanwhile, Katya Crema was on track to advance to the quarter finals at the half way stage of her qualifying run but an athlete skiing ahead of her crashed, which forced officials to close the course mid-way through the Australian’s run.

Crema was unable to achieve similar speed during her restarted qualifying run, finishing the day in 22nd place.

Owens back on track

8/1/2012

Australian ski cross athlete Jenny Owens has made a strong start to 2012, finishing sixth at the ski cross World Cup in St Johann, Austria.

Bouncing back from 12th place in San Candido, Italy, on December 20, the Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport scholarship holder skied with great purpose, progressing through to the final eight, and while missing the race-off for the top four, she finished second in the consolation final to take sixth place.

The main final was won by France’s Ophelie David, who recorded her 24th victory in World Cup competition, with Germany’s Anna Woerner in second and Frenchwoman Alizee Baron in third.

While Owens went to St Johann with a desire to finish on the podium, she leaves Austria in a positive frame of mind, knowing that after 35 World Cup career starts that she still has the potential of competing at the highest level once again.

Much of the Australian’s success and renewed confidence was paved by her strong performance in yesterday’s qualifying, which saw Owens record the weekend’s seventh fastest time among the field of 35 skiers.

However, as Owens skied toward the finish line in the small final, a split second decision may have cost her victory in the consolation event.

Going over the last set of rollers before the finish line, Owens was leading France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel by a slender margin.

In an attempt to provide a small advantage, Owens sat back on her skies, but instead of creating the small amount of acceleration that she was hoping for, the opposite occurred and the Frenchwoman cross the line first, relegating Owens to second in a photo finish.

Race judges took several minutes of studying the photo to separate Owens and Berger Sabbatel.

AIS ski cross head coach Matt Lyons was full of praise of Owens, saying that she, and the rest of Australia’s ski cross team, had done considerable soul searching after their disappointing opening to their World Cup season.

Lyons said that all team members showed significant improvement in Austria compared with the first event.

“After San Candido everybody took a deep breath and reassessed everything,” Lyons said.

“They dug deep, did some soul searching and a lot more training than was originally planned. Today was a big improvement.”

For the full story and details of other Australians in action at St Johann, go to the OWIA website: www.wintersports.com.au
Results of other Australian team members were also encouraging.

Katya Crema was the unluckiest athlete of the weekend, missing the finals by 0.19 second, largely brought about by a sudden snow storm during her qualifying run, which was not a factor when the first 16 athletes skied.

Sami Kennedy-Sim finished qualifying in 28th place while young gun Anton Grimus missed the cut for the finals by just 0.2 seconds and showed glimpses of his potential.

The encouraging results have offset some of the disappointment resulting from a training accident that saw Australia’s number one male ski cross athlete Scott Kneller fracture three fingers in his left hand.

Kneller is undergoing rehabilitation in Australia and it is hoped that he will rejoin the team in February to compete in the last two events of the season.

Owens identifies aspect to work on

19/12/2011

Australia’s Jenny Owens had to be content with 12th place in the second race of a double-header World Cup ski cross event in the Italian resort of Innichen / San Candido on Sunday December 20.

Owens, who has stood on a World Cup podium four times throughout her career and had set herself a goal of a top eight place in Innichen / San Candido, admitted that a lack of aggression in her quarter final was the reason for finishing lower in the results than the Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder was hoping for.

The event was won by Canada’s World Champion Kelsey Serwa, completing back-to-back victories after her win on Saturday in the season’s opening round, with Switzerland’s Sanna Luedi second and compatriot Katrin Mueller taking third.

“I was third coming into the first turn and wasn’t aggressive enough, so stayed in third for the rest of the way down which moved me into 12th place for race two,” Owens said.

“The start was a tricky one and not qualifying for the finals the day before disadvantaged me, as there was no practice on the start before the race.

“I knew how I wanted to start but wasn’t exactly sure how to put it into action so I just went with it and tried to do what I could.

“I was a little bummed with my efforts here in San Candido but at the same time this is the first World Cup of the season and this is a strange race where strange things happen.”

Owens and the rest of Australia’s ski cross team will focus their attention on round three in St Johann on January 7, however, before journeying to Austria, Owens will benefit from a training session in Sweden.

In other results for the AIS/NSWIS ski cross squad, Sami Kennedy-Sim finished in 19th place in Innichen / San Candido while Katya Crema managed 22nd.

Scott Kneller, who secured his first World Cup victory in this event last season, finished 50th while Anton Grimus was 61st.

Winter Olympians pushed to limit on long, hard road to Sochi

24/11/2011

WHATEVER you did last weekend, be grateful that you are not a member of the Australian ski cross team along with Olympians Scott Kneller and Katya Crema, Anton Grimus and Sami Kennedy-Sim.

For they were woken at 3am on Saturday in order to hike to the top of of Mt Buller, then across to Little Buller. It took 4 1/2 hours in driving rain, but that was just the beginning.

For the full article written by Nicole Jerrery in the Australian, please visit the link below.

Winter Olympians pushed to limit on long, hard road to Sochi

Ski Cross team ready for World Cup season

27/10/2011

The AIS Ski Cross Team has just returned from a three week spring training camp in the glaciers of Austria. The team consisted of Scott Kneller, Anton Grimus, Katya Crema and Sami Kennedy-Sim, as well as coach Matthew Lyons and ski technician Marcos Ruiz-Navarro. AIS athlete Jenny Owens was also in attendance training with the Swedish and Norwegian teams.

We started off the camp in Stubai Glacier. Up at 3200m, the first few days of training took the lungs and legs by surprise, but we were able to acclimatise pretty quickly given all the off-snow training we have been doing back home. Thanks John Marsden! (OWI strength and conditioning coach).

Long days (8am - 3pm) and a quick t-bar turn-around meant that we were pushing 30-40 runs per day. The first week was focused on technical freeskiing, drills and GS gates, whilst the second week was more Ski Cross specific.

For the second week, we trained at Hintertux Glacier, where we had our brand new world-class SSA start gate set up. We trained GS alongside the Norwegian and Swedish Ski Cross Teams, as well as worked on starts, rollers and jumping. Although every man and his dog seemed to be at Hintertux whilst we were there, we were able to get in plenty of quality training.

In total, we skied a full 13 days out of 15, with only two weather days preventing us from heading up to the glacier.

This camp was in preparation for the first Ski Cross World Cups which are to be held in Europe starting mid-December. The World Cup season kicks off in San Candido, Italy, where Scotty memorably took out the victory in the second World Cup of the season last year. We then head to Austria in early January for the infamous night race under lights at St. Johann.

The team is now back in Australia. We have a six week dryland training block before we venture back overseas for the long four month winter season. Things definitely appear to be heading in the right direction with on and off-snow preparations. The team is feeling fit, strong and confident, and ready to take it to the Euros / North Americans on the 2011/12 World Cup circuit.

Article written by AIS Ski Cross athlete - Katya Crema

Turning the tables in NZ

26/8/2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two out of two for Grimus

22/8/2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big lift with season end rankings

20/3/2011

Australia's Scott Kneller has ended this year's international ski cross season with a World Cup ranking of 12, 31 places higher than two years ago.

The 21-year-old NSW Institute of Sport and Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder made the quarter finals in Myrkdalen-Voss, Norway, last night to the finish the World Cup final round in 12th place.

The result helped to secure Kneller's career best end-of-season ranking.

The race was won by Canada's Christopher Delbosco, followed by Switzerland's Conradign Netzer and Czech Tomas Kraus, while Austria's Matt Andreas was the runaway World Cup series winner, 209 points clear of Delbodsco.

Given that Kneller finished 2009 in 43rd place and 62nd last year in an injury affected season, the Thredbo athlete can head back to Australia pleased with his World Cup results and hold high expectations for further improvement in 2011/2012.

Added to his huge improvement in the rankings, Kneller scored a World Cup victory in Italy in December.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons said that during Australia's winter Kneller will focus on further improvement with race starts and revisit some technical aspects, in readiness for next year.

The season delivered equally positive improvement with the younger members of the women's ski cross team.

Twenty-year-old Katya Crema finished with an end-of-season ranking of 18 in the world, 36 places higher than two years ago and 15 places further up the list compared with 2010.

Crema also made last night's quarter finals finishing the day in 15th overall, behind the winner Sweden's Anna Holmlund, who also secured her first World Cup series victory, while Canada's Kelsey Serwa was second and Swizterland's Katrin Mueller was third.

Australia's other women's ski cross team members Sami Kennedy and Jenny Owens did not compete in the invitation only event.

Kennedy finished the year with a ranking of 21, which is also her best ever.

Australia's best performing ski cross rider Jenny Owens, opted out of the final round and finished the season ranked 11th.

World Cup finals appearances for two Aussies

13/3/2011

AIS ski cross riders Scott Kneller and Katya Crema have qualified for the invitation only World Cup finals in Voss, Norway, on March 19, capping off a year of significant improvement for all team members.

It is the first time Australia has had two athletes in the ski cross World Cup finals.

Crema earned her place to ski against the best in the world with a hard fought quarter finals appearance in Branas, Sweden, last night while Kneller had guaranteed his spot earlier in the season.

Crema finished in fourth place in last night's quarter final race, which left her in 14th place for the event overall, behind Sweden's Anna Holmlund, Canadian Kelsey Serwa in second and Norway's Marte Hoeie Gjefsen in third.

Kneller also made the Branas knock out rounds and finished 15th for the day with Austrian Andreas Matt, Canadian Christopher Delbosco and Switzerland's Conradign Netzer making up the podium positions.

Team coach Matt Lyons said he was pleased with his athletes' improvement compared to previous years.

Kneller is currently ranked 14th, whereas he finished 2009 in 43rd and 62nd last year. Crema was 54th in 2009, 33rd in 2010 and is currently sitting in 18th place. Sami Kennedy was 44th in 2009, 31st in 2010 and is ranked 21st after finishing in 20th place in Branas.

Jenny Owens, who cut short her season due to fatigue, is currently 10th on the standings, which is 29 places higher than her injury affected season in 2010. She ended 2009 in 12th while her best season was 2008 when she finished the year in 7th place.

The other team member, Anton Grimus, is competing at World Cup level this year for the first time.

Race for ski cross top 10 still on

7/3/2011

Australia's Jenny Owens and Scott Kneller both qualified for the World Cup ski cross finals in Meiringen-Hasliberg, Switzerland, last night but were unable to progress past their first knock out round.

Owens and Kneller, both Australian Institute of Sport and New South Wales Institute of Sport scholarship holders, finished in 15th and 20th places respectively.

The women's event was won by Sweden's Anna Holmlund, with Swiss skier Katrin Mueller second and France's Ophelie David in third place, while Finn Jouni Pellinen was victorious in the men's final ahead of Austrian Andreas Matt and Germany's Daniel Bohnacker.

Matt's second place means that he has won this season's ski cross World Cup, now that he holds an unassailable lead of 244 points over Canada's Christopher Delbosco.

Last night's results leave the Australian women's and men's number ones in a battle for a place in the top 10 World Cup rankings.

Owens, who is currently in ninth place on the standings, having slipped one position after her performance in Meiringen-Hasliberg, appears to have secured a year end top 10 ranking with two rounds remaining before the close of the season.

However, Owens still needs to ski well in the two remaining races in Sweden and Norway to hold out Austria's Andrea Limbacher, who is currently in 10th spot, 23 points behind the Australian, and Czech skier Nikol Kucerova, just a another 12 points back.

Both Owens' top 10 rivals finished higher than the Australian in last night's results, making her task a little less cut-and-dry.

Kneller also dropped a place, going from 12th to 13th and is 24 points behind the current 10th ranked skier, Switzerland's Alex Fiva.

Both Australians finished third in their knock out finals, which is based on a system that allows only two of the four skiers from each race to advance to the next round.

Teammates Katya Crema and Sami Kennedy narrowly missed the 16-place women's finals, qualifying in 17th and 19th place, just outside the cut-off.

The team now heads to Branas in Sweden for the season's penultimate round on March 13.

Owens back on World Cup podium

11/2/2011

Australia's Jenny Owens stepped on to the podium for the first time in more than two years when she finished third in today's ski cross World Cup on Blue Mountain, Canada.

In a season that is gathering momentum with each World Cup round, the performance comes just a week after the AIS/NSWIS scholarship holder grabbed fifth place in the Freestyle World Ski Championships in the United States.

Today's final was won by Germany's Anna Woerner, with Swiss skier Fanny Smith picking up second.

It was a top-class field, with Owens finishing ahead of fifth place getter and Canada's newly crowned World Champion, Kelsey Serwa, and the World Cup's current number one Heidi Zacher from Germany, who was back in seventh. Owens added 60 points to her season tally, which has consolidated her place in the world's top 10 rankings with four rounds remaining this season.

The podium finish is the fourth recorded by Owens since joining the World Cup ski cross tour in 2006.

AIS ski cross head coach Matt Lyons said that a pre-race plan of skiing wide paid handsome dividends for Owens.

Lyons anticipated that the track conditions would become more icy and faster towards the end of competition, so he and Owens decided that her best option would be to ski out wide throughout the day.

Lyons' prediction was not anticipated by most other athletes with many of the field falling victim to racing incidents brought on by the challenging icy conditions.

Lyons attributes much of Owen's rejuvenation in recent World Cup rounds to a change of mind set.

"She is enjoying skiing again and just having fun every time she competes, nothing more than that," Lyons explained.

And to give the women's team even more reason to celebrate, 22-year-old Sami Kennedy recorded a career best eighth, the first time she has scored a top 10 in World Cup competition.

Kennedy's encouraging result came from a determined second place in her quarter final but her hopes of joining Owens in the final were dashed when she finished fourth in her semi-final.

Fellow scholarship holder Katya Crema also had reason to smile with a season-equal-best result, placing 13th.

Unfortunately the men's team of Scott Kneller and Anton Grimus were not able to follow in the women's footsteps, finishing the day in 24th and 28th.

Both earned a place in the knock out rounds after recording the 18th and 25th fastest times respectively in qualifying but were unable to advance to the quarter finals when they finished fourth in their heats.

Kneller made an error while leading the four man heat, which put an end to his day.

The men's final was won by Canadian Christopher Delbosco, with World Cup points leader Andreas Matt from Austria in second and Czech Tomas Kraus in third.

The AIS team now has a week's break before heading to Grasgehren, Germany, to train with the home team. Lyons said they will work on head to head speed with the Germans and polish their starting techniques in order to finish the last four races of the season in the best possible way.

World Championships one to remember for Owens

5/2/2011

AIS skier Jenny Owens delivered her best result in two years with an impressive fifth place in today's FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships ski cross final in Deer Valley, USA.

Canadian pair Kelsey Serwa and Julia Murray were consistently strong throughout the four race knock out finals series picking up the gold and silver medals while Sweden's Anna Holmund was third across the line.

Owens qualified for the first of the four rounds in 12th place but drew on the experience acquired from nine years as a national team member to advance to the quarter finals with a second place in the first knock out race.

The Australian won her quarter final ahead of today's newly crowned World Champion, who advanced to the semis with a second place.

However, a racing incident, which often goes with the hustle and bustle of this exciting ski discipline, cost Owens the chance of advancing to the medal round.

Finishing the semi in third place, she had to be content with a berth in the consolation final.

The Australian Institute of Sport skier was determined to make a point and crossed the line in the consolation final in first place, ahead of Poland's Karolina Riemen, German Heidi Zacher, who is currently leading this season's World Cup points standing, and Norway's Marte Hoeie Gjefsen.

Teammates Katya Crema finished in 17th and Sami Kennedy finished in 18th after a freak equipment mishap which saw her lose a binding out of the start gate.

In the men's event, leading skier Scott Kneller had a day he would like to forget.

Qualifiying for the first knock out round in 6th place, the NSW Institute of Sport scholarship holder and winner of this season's round two of the World Cup tour, experienced a slow start and failed to finish in the top two places required to advance to the next round.

Anton Grimus, who qualified for the finals in 30th place, did not finish his first knock out round race.

Canadian Chris Del Bosco made it double gold for Canada with a win in the men's event.

World Championship lead up boost

30/1/2011

Australia's ski cross World Championship preparation received a confidence boost last night with a strong performance in Germany.

Competing in the World Cup sixth round in Grasgehren, all three women team members finished in the top 13, a team best this season.

Jenny Owens, a veteran of 29 World Cup starts and three podiums, lead the charge by finishing seventh, her fourth consecutive top 10 place this season and will go into next Friday's World Championships in the United States with solid prospects.

The final was won by Sweden's Anna Holmlund, Germany's Heidi Zacher was second while Switzerland's Katrin Mueller finished third.

Fellow AIS/NSWIS scholarship holder, 22-year-old Sami Kennedy recorded an individual season best performance by qualifying ninth fastest, just one place behind Owens, and ended the day in 11th, her best finish since making her World Cup debut in 2008.

A further two places back in 13th, Katya Crema also enjoyed her best World Cup finish of the season after qualifying in 12th.

But as far as the Australian team was concerned, the day belonged to Owens who finished in second place in her quarter final after challenging for the lead throughout the race but unfortunately the Perisher based skier missed the start of her semi-final, which cost her any chance of advancing to the final.

Owens turned around her misfortunes at the starting gate in the consolation final and quickly gained second position only to be overtaken towards the end of the race by a fast finishing Andrea Limbacher from Austria.

AIS Ski cross head coach Matt Lyons said that Owens skied well despite being physically exhausted before the World Cup sixth round.

Owens' preparation for this season's World Cup was not as rigorous as she would have liked due to a recovery period after knee surgery last March.

Lyons added that Owens will benefit from several days of rest before the World Championships, an event she finished 15th in two years ago in Inawashiro, Japan.

In the men's event, Mt Buller-based 20-year-old Anton Grimus finished 24th after making what Lyons described as a "rookie error". He finished behind event winner Andreas Matt from Austria, compatriot Patrick Koller and Switzerland's Armin Niederer in third.

The team's number one men's skier, Scott Kneller, missed the Grasgehren event to compete in the X-Games in Aspen, United States.

All members of the AIS ski cross team will now travel to Utah for the World Championships event later this week.

Ski Cross top 5 and top 10 in France

17/1/2011

Australia's ski cross team has continued to improve their results in the lead up to next month's World Championships with a strong performance in the French Alps resort of Les Contamines last night.

Jenny Owens was the team's leading light when she delivered her second top 10 finish within four days.

The AIS/NSWIS scholarship holder ended the day with a season best fifth position thanks to a second place in a quarter final, third in a semi-final and notching a victory by two ski lengths in the consolation final.

Had it not been for a comparatively slow start in the semi-final she would have been in medal contention.

The round added 450 points to Owens' improving season ranking, which sees her break into the world's top 10 for the first time in 2010/2011.

The women's final was won by local skier Ophelie David, with Canadian and tour leader Kelsey Serwa in second place while Sweden's Anna Holmund came in third.

Fellow AIS/NSWIS scholarship holder Scott Kneller , who had to endure the disappointment of a ski waxing error on the neighbouring mountain of Alpe d'Huez this week, bounced back with a solid seventh position.

After qualifying down the list in 24th, Kneller won in his first knock out heat, came in second in a quarter final, and third in a semi-final, but crashed out on the last turn of the consolation final while drafting an opponent.

Although the 21-year-old Kneller, who won the second round in this year's series, has the talent and potential to be a regular World Cup podium finisher, he was happy that today's result on the steep 1180-metre course saw him jump two places into eighth position into the world.

Canada's Christopher Delbosco recorded his first World Cup victory of the year, while Austrian Andreas Matt tightened his grip on the series with a second place. Russian Egor Korotkov made it on to the World Cup podium for the first time in his career with a third place.

AIS ski cross head coach Matt Lyons said that he was pleased with the day's outcome but added that several lost opportunities could have provided even more impressive results.

"Everybody executed our race plans well today and it was pleasing that the lost opportunities were not from skiing errors," Lyons said.

"This is a rough and tumble sport where you always need to take chances. Sometimes they come together, other times they do not.

"We need to now work on consistency and that will come from training a lot harder."

Talented young gun Anton Grimus failed to qualify to his potential and was eliminated from the finals in the round of 32, finishing the day in 29th position while Katya Crema and Sami Kennedy were unable to advance to the women's quarter finals, finishing in 17th and 26th respectively.

Gritty Owens grabs top 10 finish

8/1/2011

Australian ski cross racer Jenny Owens delivered her best World Cup result in 12 months with a hard fought performance in St Johann, Austria, last night.

The event, the third of the season, provided encouraging signs for the 32-year-old Perisher- based AIS athlete.

The huge crowd lining the steep and icy 750-metre course saw Owens qualify in 12th place, finish second in her quarter final, fourth in a semi-final and fourth in the small final.

The encouraging results placed Owens in eighth overall, behind German winner Heidi Zacher, Norway's Hedda Berntsen in second and Germany's Anna Woerrner in third.

Head coach Matt Lyons said that while he expects more improvement from Owens, he was impressed by the turnaround compared with her first two World Cup rounds of the season in Italy last month.

"Jenny has the ability and today we saw her start to get back the confidence she needs," Lyons said.

"She was disappointed with the way she skied in Italy but today was very encouraging."

Owens spent much of the Christmas-New Year break in an extensive training block with the Swiss team, which has given her renewed confidence in her ability and prompted her to make small technical modifications and rethink various race strategies.

Australia's two other female competitors, Sami Kennedy and Katya Crema finished in 21st and 23rd places respectively.

While the women's team enjoyed their best result of the year, the men's team had a frustrating event.

Scott Kneller, winner of the last round in Italy last month, could manage only 31st place, which saw him fail to make the quarter finals.

American John Teller, Canada's Nick Zoricic and Austrian Thomas Zangerl captured the first three places.

Kneller appeared to ski tentatively, which was a complete contrast to his performance in Italy that enabled him to record Australia's first ski cross victory.

Mt Buller's Anton Grimus also shared the frustrations finishing in 43rd position.

Grimus makes encouraging World Cup debut

19/12/2010

World Cup ski cross debutant Anton Grimus underlined why many people in the Australian ski community have high expectations of the 20-year-old when he qualified second fastest in Italy overnight.

Grimus clocked 53.88 seconds, just nine one hundredth of a second behind pace setter Finland's Jouni Pellinen in the World Cup season opener at the Innichen/San Candido resort.

Despite his strong showing in qualifying, the AIS athlete was beaten in his first elimination final, finishing the day in 17th place in the field of 67.

In other Australian ski cross results Scott Kneller finished 19th and in the women's event Olympian Jenny Owens placed 17th, Sami Kennedy, 19th and Katya Crema in 23rd position.

Australia's five-person ski cross team compete again tonight in the second round double header.

Kneller and Crema collect gold at Hotham

24/8/2010

Scott Kneller has maintained the great form that took him to seventh place at Vancouver 2010 in February, winning both rounds of the Australia New Zealand Cup ski cross at Hotham.

Olympic team-mate Katya Crema also made the podium in both races, winning the first then collecting silver in the second.

Kneller, 22, was too good in the final of the opening event, out-skiing the Russian duo of Georgy Kornilov and Alexandr Koryakovtsev, while Mt Buller's Anton Grimus, the fastest qualifier, finished in fourth position.

Grimus took silver in the second event behind Kneller, with Kornilov adding a bronze to his weekend's tally, while Luke Laidlaw filled fourth place.

Crema claimed gold in the opening women's event ahead of the Russian pair of Julia Livinskaya and Violetta Kovalskaya, but lowered her colours to Livinskaya on day two.

Sami Kennedy was the best of the remaining Aussies, finishing in fifth place in each of the two races.

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