Swedish skier Jon Olsson powers out of the start gate on
his way to winning the giant slalom on the first day of FIS
Elite Race series at Treble Cone, yesterday. Photo by
Antony Hansen.
Freeskiing convert Jon Olsson, of Sweden, won the men's
giant slalom alpine race in the first event of a two-day Elite
FIS Race series at Treble Cone yesterday.
Olsson is one of the world's best freeskiers - he has won
nine Winter X Games medals - but also competes in the pure
speed discipline of alpine skiing as he attempts to make the
Winter Olympics.
He clinched the top spot in yesterday's race with the fastest
combined time of 1min 29.21sec, edging Norwegian Leif
Kristian Haugen into second by 0.16sec.
Swede Niklas Rainer was third in 1min 29.48sec.
Allie McGlinn, of Queenstown, continued her recent impressive
form and finished second in the women's race, 0.57sec behind
winner Kristine Haugen, of Norway.
Haugen's combined time of 1min 32.07sec shaded McGlinn's 1min
32.64sec, while Australian Emily Bamford was third in 1min
34.28sec.
Angus Howden, of Wellington, was the top-ranked New Zealander
in the men's competition, placing 7th.
The Elite FIS series is run by the Treble Cone Racing
Academy, whose ski team members include both men's and
women's winner Olsson and Haugen.
TCRA director Guenther Birgmann said having athletes win both
the men's and women's events at the same venue was a major
step for the academy.
TCRA members also placed six athletes in the top 15 men's and
four in the top 15 women's, he said.
The FIS Elite series concludes today with the slalom race at
Treble Cone.
Some of the world's top big mountain skiers and boarders are
residing in Lake Hawea while they wait for the perfect
back-country conditions for the World Heli Challenge during
the next two weeks.
About 36 skiers and snowboarders have entered the
helicopter-accessed event, which will be held in the mountain
ranges around Makarora and in Mt Aspiring National Park.
The three event days consisting of the "big mountain",
"freeride" and "downhill" competitions need good weather
conditions to allow helicopters to fly into the mountains.
The event has a two-week window which started yesterday,
although ongoing stormy weather conditions meant the action
was put on hold.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.