ALPINE SKIING: Katie Parker and Louis Muhlen have kicked off their Lillehammer 2016 campaign with some solid results as they took to Hafjell Olympic Slope for the Super G.
In what were perfect conditions on the opening day of alpine competition, Parker claimed 16th and Muhlen 29th in the first event of what will be a busy schedule for the Melbourne duo.
Parker was 17th on the course and clocked 1:16.41, 4.48 seconds off Austria’s Nadine Fest who claimed the gold medal with her teammate Julia Scheib in second and Aline Danioth rounding out the podium.
“The course was so fun, the snow was sweet, I just want to do it again,” said Parker.
“It was really rhythmical and super fast with a bit of air in there as well. I didn’t know what to expect but I went for it.”
Coach Johannes Hassler was equally pleased with Parker’s performance.
“A top 20 result is what we were after and that is what Katie achieved,” he said.
Muhlen finished 3.73 seconds behind winner River Radimus of the USA after coming out of the gate 29th. Italy’s Pietro Canzio and Austria’s Manuel Traninger claimed the silver and bronze medals.
“The competition was alright, I didn’t do as well as I wanted to,” said Muhlen.
“I made some mistakes and wasn’t able to charge as much as I wanted. It was good though and good to get the first race out of the way and onward and upward from here.
“The course was great and should be really good for the next few days.”
The pair will compete in three more individual events before the mixed team parallel rounds out a busy few days.
Next up for Parker and Muhlen is the Super Combined (Sunday night AEDT).
“I’m super excited for that and can probably go for it a bit more now that I know the hill,” said Parker.
“I’m looking forward to the Super G,” added Muhlen. “I’ll reset, reassess and see how we go.”
Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au