Sami Kennedy-Sim has achieved a top 10 finish in seeding at the women’s ski cross competition at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.

Predicted inclement weather forced organisers to move seeding from Friday to Thursday, with finals now scheduled for earlier in the day on Friday.  

Kennedy-Sim was sixth to go in the seeding round, crossing the line with a time of 1:14.97.

She finished ninth overall and 1.86 seconds off the pace, which was set by Canada’s Marielle Thompson.

The Sochi Olympian was happy to blow away some of the cobwebs and post a strong run.

“I had my worst run ever in training this morning, so to get those Olympic nerves out of the way was a good thing,” Kennedy-Sim said.

“My start was really strong but I’ve got some elements that I need to clean-up. Looking good going into a race tomorrow, it will be fun,” she said.

Kennedy-Sim knows she’ll need more than a strong start if she is to move through Friday’s finals.

“Always something I can rely on but on this track, we had quite a bit of passing in the training days and there was crazy passing yesterday in the men’s (event).

“Fair game, everyone has a bullseye on their back here.”

The 29-year old takes confidence from her previous Games experience.

“I learnt that anything can happen at an Olympics. The cool thing is you don’t have to worry about the qualifying run because you’ve already qualified. Takes the pressure of a little bit.

“Win lose or draw, if I can inspire a couple of kids at home to get off the couch and get active – that’s the best thing, that’s what the Olympics is about,” she said.

Women’s Ski Cross finals begin 9am local time (11am AEST) on Friday 23 February (Day 14). Kennedy-Sim will start in heat two in the round of eight finals. 

Finals consist of 1/8 finals, quarterfinals, semifinals, small final and big final. The competitors are placed in the heats of the first phase (1/8 finals) based upon their seeding. Each heat can have a maximum of four competitors with the first two competitors of each heat advancing to the next phase.

Michelle Cook
olympics.com.au

Two back-to-back competitions opened 2018 for the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup tour at Sweden’s Idre Fjall resort on the weekend with mixed results for the Australians amid another weather-affected event.

Saturday’s qualifying saw Sami Kennedy-Sim easily through as she has done every race, but going out in the quarter finals in World Cup 1, ending up with another 11th place. Sunday’s women’s finals were cancelled after the wind picked up, but by virtue of the qualifying time trials the previous day, Kennedy-Sim picked up her first top ten for the season.

Anton Grimus was not in the mix for World Cup 1, bowing out in the qualifying in 46th place, but bounced back in the second qualifying time trial with a much-improved 17th, booking himself into the eighth finals for the Sunday World Cup, where he came third.

“Idre was a tough one,” Grimus said. “The weather came in overnight with snow and wind.”

“The track was running a lot slower, so the girls were canned but the guys were able to manage without too many problems.”

Grimus had struggled for results until making the finals in the second World Cup in Idre, and is still wanting more after coming third in the opening final round and not moving through to the quarters.   

“I got out of the gate in fourth which wasn’t a bad situation to be in and I backed myself to get down the course.”
“One mistake up the top put me in a long landing and I kept pushing and made up some ground.”

“I just over pressed the jumps in the slow conditions and knuckled two or three jumps leading into the flat section, which wasted my speed away and didn’t have enough down the bottom to make the pass and ended up in third place.”

“(It’s) a bit disappointing. I wanted a lot more from myself in this race. The track was a track that suited me but I didn’t have a clean enough run to make it happen… but onto Nakiska now,” he said.  

Sami Kennedy-Sim, who wants to break this season’s 11th place hoo doo, did make it into the top ten for the second World Cup by virtue of the qualifying time trials.  

“We’ve got a lot of wind, fresh snow and poor conditions,” Kennedy-Sim said on Sunday night after the second World Cup for the women was cancelled.

“At first it was postponed and I didn’t get a training run. It looked like we would proceed (to the finals) and then they cancelled the comp,” she said.

Staying healthy and injury-free was uppermost in her mind.

“If they had run the comp I would have withdrawn. The men’s race was in pretty bad conditions and if they were having trouble, it would have been worse for the women. They made the right decision for the safety of the athletes. Today wouldn’t have ended well.”

Kennedy-Sim was frustrated with Saturday’s World Cup result.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t make the top eight. This track is notorious for drafting. I tactically changed to be behind and draft.”

“I executed well and my race plan for the first half of the event was all good. I was able to overtake and then I went long on a jump and I got rotated. It was a near crash.”

“It was disappointing for me to have another 11th. The result on paper was another 11th but it was a photo finish. Things are starting to come together.”

“Whilst I’m happy with the decision to cancel the second World Cup, I would have liked to be able to race. I wanted to do well for our ski technician Martin Palacios for his birthday!”

Grimus and Kennedy-Sim, along with all the Ski Cross World Cup tour athletes, coaches and technicians will travel to Nakiska, Canada for the last competition on January 20 before PyeongChang.

“Let’s hope the bags come too,” Kennedy-Sim quipped. “The entire tour is on that flight.  It’s a busy and exciting time.”
 
 

The December weather that plunged the Ski Cross World Cup tour into an endless ‘start-stop’ challenge is hopefully only a memory as the season restarts in Idre, Sweden on Friday this week.

Australia’s two best Ski Cross athletes, Sami Kennedy-Sim and Anton Grimus are buckling down for the remaining World Cups in Sweden and Canada before PyeongChang with coach Shawn Fleming saying that Idre provides ‘a good replica’ of the end section for the upcoming Games.

“The PyeongChang start will be slightly different from what we were on before (at a previous event), but the rest is the same. There are good opportunities for passing in the second half,” Fleming said.

“For us coming into Idre – it’s good practise because there’s a lot of passing at the end. The last half in PyeongChang is dead straight and you could be at the back and pass all the way to the front. It’s not done until you at the finish.”

Sixteen women will qualify to the final rounds in Idre and Fleming says Kennedy-Sim has pace.

“Sami is skiing up there for pace with the best of them. Really, for her, it’s just buckling down and staying composed.,” he said.  

“She is definitely someone who builds on her confidence and that’s the key.”

“December was the first European winter in a long time that was start stop. The programs were continually altered and that was tough for everyone. In Montafon, there was only one training run and then step in perform right away on a one and half minute course.”

“Sami definitely recognises that the lack of continuity has made it hard and owns some of the silly mistakes. The results were 11th, 11th,11th. Just give us something other than 11th,” he said.  “The small final is just as attainable as the big final when there is only four.”  

“We get the 11th and can see the trend. It’s not that we’re not as good or as fast. The trend gives us a really clear position to know where to go. We need to do a better job putting it together in that one run and then it’s fair game.”  

“There’s an element of luck in a sport like Ski Cross. It requires mental toughness and can switch day to day.”

“Ninety percent of what Sami does ninety percent of the time is right. Now it’s finding another five per cent.”

The Idre track suits Kennedy-Sim and is the location that delivered a World Cup podium and bronze medal last year.  

 “She likes the track at Idre. We’re hoping the weather looks good for the double then we are off to Nakiska (in Canada), a quick break and a final training camp before PyeongChang.”

Anton Grimus is looking for the edge and has been training with the Americans. He will want to be inside the top 32 skiers to go through the eighth finals.

“I’m fairly confident he’s going to make it and be going in to the Games. Of course, you’d want to see results,” Fleming said.

Grimus had knee surgery in June to ‘clean up’ a previous surgery in January and is all good to go.

“It’s (the knee) not 100 percent but not a limiting factor in his skiing. He’s a competitor and wants to do well.”

Currently Grimus sits outside the top 32 for Olympic qualification but Fleming says that, “with adjustments to entry allocations he should be OK for PyeongChang.”

The Idre World Cup qualifications begin with the men at 9pm, Friday evening (AEDT). The first World Cup finals on Saturday start at 9pm (AEDT). The second World Cup kicks off at 10pm on Sunday, 14 January.

Follow OWIA on Twitter for all the action. Check out the www.owia.org for a full report and watch the finals LIVE on Eurosport Australia
 
By Belinda Noonan
OWIA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

​

Sochi Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim looks the epitome of ‘under-control’ heading into the PyeongChang Winter Games, relaxed and smiling with an aura of Australian spirit and pride.

The Ski Cross athlete is fresh off a two-week stint in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where she was surrounded by Australian teammates and Olympic Champions, also looking for success come February. 

“I was there alongside our snowboard cross athlete Belle Brockhoff and also had some really good training with the Canadian team who have the current Olympic gold and silver medallists,” said Kennedy-Sim. 

“It was really invaluable for me to go and make the most of the experience.”

But it was the off-snow bond that formed between Kennedy-Sim and Brockhoff that allowed the pair to stay relaxed and enjoy the intense training block.

“It was so great for me to train with Belle and have somebody to have some a little bit of respite with in the afternoons,” said the 29-year-old who spent her down time creating hilarious content on social media.

“If you've seen our Instagram feeds you know we had a fun couple of weeks recreating people's silly Instagram videos and stay tuned for more - there will definitely be more!”

“It does get a little bit lonely on this competitive road, so to have somebody who's also trying to better themselves all the time and is eyeing similar goals to you but isn't necessarily your direct competition was so good to be around.

Fellow Sochi Olympian Brockhoff also spent a few weeks in Saas Fee and said having a familiar Australian face around made the training environment feel like home.

"We have known each other for a while now so we hung out almost every afternoon," Brockhoff said.

"Most of the time we found ourselves laughing, sometimes on the ground with our abs hurting- at the silly things we did and filmed alot of it on social. When I'm with a good mate, I feel really comfortable and do silly stuff."

Melbourne-native, Brockhoff also echoed that having a training partner from a different sport made her a better athlete on the mountain.

"At the same time, it was awesome to have a team mate there, regardless of Sami doing Ski Cross. She works hard in training and is continually bettering herself," said the 23-year-old.

"Its always refreshing to have that energy around your training camp. It gives you more motivation. I'm really excited the next time we are in the same resort!"

Manly-native Kennedy-Sim also found inspiration from Brockhoff's major knee injury which she worked hard to rehabiltate earlier this year as well as a number of other injuries among PyeongChang hopefuls.

“I'm absolutely motivated by our whole team who have had some massive injuries in this last year, coming into the Olympics which isn't necessarily ideal.

“It shows people our true colours as athletes and we've got some strong people in winter sports, so it is really motivating for me to have these sorts of people around me.”

Kennedy-Sim was joined by fellow Australians, World Champion Scotty James (Snowboard Halfpipe) and Russ Henshaw (Snowboard slopestyle) which made the training environment feel just like home.

She said the strength of the Australian Team heading into the 2018 Olympics is pushing her towards her best Olympic performance.

“I'm so proud to be part of this, women dominant, winter sports team. The team is looking really successful coming into the games.

“You never know what's going to happen on the day and I know that everybody's working really hard to make sure that they can put their best performances down.

“Ultimately we do have a really strong team. We're Aussie, we're the underdogs and I'm really proud to be part of that.”
Kennedy-Sim said she learnt a lot from her Olympic debut experience in Sochi and training with the attitude that she can overcome anything thrown her way.

“I've been setting myself up to make sure that I can deal with whatever issues come up on a day to day basis.
“I can't predict that now in October but in February I'll be ready for anything.

The next four months for Kennedy-Sim will focus heavily on training following by six Ski Cross World Cup events before Christmas and another two in January.

After that it’s all systems go for PyeongChang 2018. 


Ash Knight
olympics.com.au

The winter season is officially underway with resorts expected to open early after a blast of snow and dropping temperatures but Australia’s female Ski Cross supremo Sami Kennedy-Sim is holding back from a quick trip to the snowy ranges this weekend – despite the urge to do so.

Coming off her most successful international season, where she captured her first World Cup medal claiming silver in Sweden plus four top ten finishes, Kennedy-Sim is currently focussed on strength and conditioning.

Very focussed.

So much so that she has given up full-time work as a Winter Sports Administrator for the NSW Institute of Sport in Jindabyne and her growing fitness business ‘Team Sami’ to concentrate on the season ahead and the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang next February.

“I’m not working at all this year,” she explained. “I started training again this season at the beginning of April with John (Marsden – OWIA Head of Athlete Preparation) and all my time is spent on that.”

“Having the ability to focus solely on training is allowing me to introduce some new elements and techniques.”

“I’m able to put in the hard work,” she said after a session running and hopping up and down sand dunes on a northern Sydney beach.

“I was so tempted to go to the snow this first weekend but I won’t go until July. Being able to get onto snow is becoming a reward - like dangling a little cherry on a stick.

 “This last two months is paying off and I’m feeling like I’m in really good shape. Recent testing has shown we are definitely on the right track.”

Australian Ski Cross head coach Shawn Fleming believes getting the work done early and building the base in this off-season period is critical.

“For Sami, it’s building on what she already had and continuing to make the work, work.”

“We did have a better season (2016/17) and it’s not always roses. There’s the work to be done and improving skills across the board.”

Those skills include the mental as well as physical in a sport where four racers go head to head and split-second decisions need to be made in pressure situations.
 
“A big part of my training program now is mental preparation alongside strength and conditioning. The split-second decision making is a focus which we’re practising in day to day life and it has made a difference.”

Kennedy-Sim cites achieving a happier outlook as one of the biggest changes so early this season.

“When I came home last Christmas after a particularly heavy racing period in December my mum said to me – “It would be nice to see you smile on TV.”

“I’d forgotten to stop and smell the roses and made a decision to embrace and enjoy more. Sometimes the results are not what you want but it’s important to take away the positives.”

“I started to realise how much I love this sport…… this crazy sport. It’s about loving your life.”

The close-knit Australian Ski Cross team is small but glued together.

Head coach Shawn Fleming is backed up by assistant coach Danny Geiger and ski technician Martin Palacios. Together with Ski Cross team-mate Anton Grimus the gang-of-five are mostly self-sufficient apart from visiting medical and support staff in Australia.  

“We are a little team and do things a bit differently to other teams by making the most of the situations we’re in and taking something out of each day. Back home there’s John Marsden (physiologist) and Tom Hammond (psychologist). Having constant and open communication between all of us makes it work.”

“This season it’s all about managing expectations. I do get pretty excited and you have to be on your toes a lot. At the moment, I’m reminding myself it’s only the last day of May.”

If team work, dedication and a love of your sport is anything to go by Sami Kennedy-Sim and the Ski Cross team are heading in the right direction – even if it’s a bit sandy rather than snowy for another few weeks.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unexpected illness has cut short Sami Kennedy-Sim's dual World Cup weekend, unable to compete last night with a stomach virus.

The world number 16 spent the day in the hotel after falling sick, just one day after placing 11th in the first of the two World Cups in Watles, Italy.

It had been a good start to the weekend, with all athletes automatically passed through the qualifiers thanks to poor weather conditions​ on day one of competition.

Once the track was cleared Sami put up a strong fight thanks to some clean training ahead of her final, which according to coach Shawn Fleming, allowed her the best run at a result.

"Sami trained really well before her quarter final heat and even though she had a mistake on the first corner jump which cost her some speed, she did a good job to keep composure through the middle section," Fleming said.

"This course really punishes even the smallest mistakes through the middle section as it slopes slightly uphill through the end of the straight."

"She maintained her speed right towards the end and closed some space but unfortunately it was not enough to overtake the front girls and she ended up 3rd in the quarter final."

Despite hoping for some mistake free runs in last night's second World Cup, Sami's illness meant she could not start and will now have to wait until early February for the next World Cup in Germany.

The Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup, originally scheduled for 21 January in Megeve, France has been cancelled due to weather conditions and brought forward by one week to occur earlier in Watles, Italy, which already had a World Cup scheduled on January 15.

Essentially, competitors will compete in two World Cups over two days with one qualification for both events on Friday, January 13.

With OWIA skier Anton Grimus out with a minor injury, carrying the baton for Australia is Samantha Kennedy-Sim who will be looking to better her fourth place World Cup finish in Arosa, Switzerland in mid-December.  

“I am really looking forward to the double event in Italy next week and continuing to build on December's events,” Sami said today.

“I fly from Sydney this afternoon back to Europe after a 10-day summer break and can't wait to get back on my skis.”

The decision by FIS to combine the two January World Cups was made following low snow accumulation in Megeve.

“With less-than-ideal snow conditions plaguing much of the Alps it seemed only a matter of time before one of the stops on the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup would be affected, and today we found that to be the case with the cancellation of the Megeve (FRA) competition originally scheduled for January 22, 2017,” the FIS press release stated.  

“Strong cooperation from the Italian Ski Federation (FISI) and the Sud Tirolian resort of Watles has ensured that the hole in the schedule left by the Megeve cancellation has already been filled, as Watles will add a second race to its upcoming competition program, with back-to-back races slated for January 14 and 15 after qualifications on the 13th.”

This is the second season in a row that Watles has been asked to add a race to its competition program, and for the second straight season Watles has been able to step and do so, after a similarly bad snow situation forced the cancellation of a race planned for La Plagne (FRA) last year. 

The revised Ski Cross World Cup schedule for January will be as follows;

Friday, 13.01.2017: Qualifications for both competitions
Saturday, 14.01.2017: 1st competition - CET 11:00 (replacement for Megève)
Sunday, 15.01.2017: 2nd competition - CET 11:00 (as originally planned)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mental preparation will be key.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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