Cross-country skier Ben Koons is the second athlete to have
met the Winter Olympics "A qualification" standard for
February's games in Vancouver, Canada, after competition in
Finland this week.
The United States-based Koons has joined fellow cross-country
skier Katie Calder of Hamilton, who met the International
Skiing Federation (FIS) qualifying standard in July, as Snow
Sports New Zealand nominations to the New Zealand Olympic
Committee, cross-country sports official John Burridge said.
NZOC team services manager Robin Wong said the International
Olympics Federation would announce New Zealand's athlete
quota on January 18.
The Winter Games team announcement would be made once that
allocation was known.
Koons said in an email he was relieved the pressure to chase
FIS points was off and he could now concentrate on training.
Koons failed to meet the qualifying standard by a whisker at
the Winter Games New Zealand in August.
He obtained 99.61 FIS points in the classic race at Muonio,
Finland, while suffering from an illness, and decided not to
ski the freestyle race.
Other New Zealand athletes attempting to qualify in Finland
include Nat Anglem of Christchurch and Canadian-based
biathlete Sarah Murphy.
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