PYEONGCHANG 2018: Most Australians might be getting ready to take a break for the festive season but as the countdown to the 23rd Winter Olympic Games hits 50 days to go Australia’s winter athletes are locked in on making a final push towards PyeongChang.
Australia is expecting to send a team of approximately 50 athletes to the South Korean snow sports city with the majority of the team still heavily involved in qualification events right up until just three weeks before the Games get underway on February 9.
“We’ve been preparing for a long time and finally hit the home stretch which is very exciting,” Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman said.
“Almost all of our athletes will be competing regularly in the final 50 days, with the majority looking to book their ticket to PyeongChang right up until the final quotas are handed out on January 21.
“We’ve had some good results to start the season and we’ll be doing everything we can to help ensure our athletes are at their peak come February.”
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Those results have included five World Cup gold medals and a number of other promising results as crunch-time for the PyeongChang Games nears.
Our men’s Snowboard Cross athletes have been carving up with Alex Pullin winning the opening two World Cup events, Jarryd Hughes claiming gold over the weekend in Austria and young gun Adam Lambert breaking through for his first World Cup podium having earned silver in France. The results see Pullin sit atop the current overall World Cup standings with Hughes fourth and Lambert fifth.
Moguls World Champion Britt Cox claimed gold in the opening event in Ruka, Finland, while World Championship Aerials silver medallist Danielle Scott won gold over the weekend at the venue that will play host to the freestyle skiing competitions at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Scott also teamed up with David Morris and Samantha Wells to secure silver in the Aerials Team event.
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“I'm feeling confident for the lead up, and having gone to two Games before is a big help,” Sochi 2014 silver medallist Morris said.
“Understanding that it is a progression to get there, you don't have to win everything right out of the gate but gradually build.
“I'm confident that I am heading in the right direction and will be at my best by the time PyeongChang rolls around. My body is in good condition and my head is in a good place.
“I have a great network of support around me and I will just continue to improve and fix the small things in order to continue to challenge the very best in the world.”
Short track skater Deanna Lockett also won her first World Cup bronze, Scotty James won Dew Tour silver against a world class field and young figure skating pair Harley Windsor and Katia Alexandrovskaya have been podium regulars throughout the season.
To date, seven athletes have been announced on the Australian Team with speed skater Daniel Greig today joining short track athletes Lockett and Andy Jung, and figure skaters Windsor, Alexandrovskaya, Kailani Craine and Brendan Kerry.
Quotas for bobsleigh, skeleton and luge will be finalised midway through January before the final allocation of quotas for all other remaining sports will be handed out on January 21.
Australia has won a Winter Olympic medal at every Games since Lillehammer 1994 where the men’s short track relay team secured the bronze medal.
Athletes in the green and gold have won a total of 12 Winter Olympic medals including five gold. Two of those gold medallists, in Lydia Lassila and Torah Bright, are aiming to compete at PyeongChang 2018.
Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au
