AJ Bear has become the first alpine skier to meet the Australian Olympic Committee qualifying criteria for Torino 2006 team selection.
AJ Bear has become the first alpine skier to meet the Australian Olympic Committee qualifying criteria for Torino 2006 team selection.
Bear skied to a 27th place in super G in Val Gardena overnight, posting the second of two top 60 per cent of field results he needed to fulfil the qualification requirements
The NSW skier covered the famed Saslong course in a time of one minute 39.22 seconds, just 1.8 seconds off the winning time of Austrian Hans Grugger.
Bear's placing, the second best super G result of his career, was an impressive performance in only his sixth race back from knee surgery, and on a course that has been his nemesis..
"I'm especially happy with the result considering I crashed in this event the last two years in a row and severely injured myself in one of them," Bear said.
"My confidence is growing with each run and I am on track to reach my end goal."
The 28-year-old blew out his knee in a high speed fall on the Val Gardena course in December 2003.
The other Australian in the field, fellow NSW skier Luke Deane, placed 47th in a time of 1minute 40.34 seconds, missing out on a top 60 per cent result.
Deane and Craig Branch will have their last opportunity to post the second qualifying result they both need in super G at a World Cup in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on January 21.
Grugger's victory in the Val Gardena event, the first super G win of his career, came in a time of one minute 37.35 seconds. Canadian Eric Guay was second and Swiss skier Ambrosi Hoffmann third.
Bear and Branch will compete in a World Cup downhill race at the Italian resort tonight.
Bear skied to a 27th place in super G in Val Gardena overnight, posting the second of two top 60 per cent of field results he needed to fulfil the qualification requirements
The NSW skier covered the famed Saslong course in a time of one minute 39.22 seconds, just 1.8 seconds off the winning time of Austrian Hans Grugger.
Bear's placing, the second best super G result of his career, was an impressive performance in only his sixth race back from knee surgery, and on a course that has been his nemesis..
"I'm especially happy with the result considering I crashed in this event the last two years in a row and severely injured myself in one of them," Bear said.
"My confidence is growing with each run and I am on track to reach my end goal."
The 28-year-old blew out his knee in a high speed fall on the Val Gardena course in December 2003.
The other Australian in the field, fellow NSW skier Luke Deane, placed 47th in a time of 1minute 40.34 seconds, missing out on a top 60 per cent result.
Deane and Craig Branch will have their last opportunity to post the second qualifying result they both need in super G at a World Cup in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on January 21.
Grugger's victory in the Val Gardena event, the first super G win of his career, came in a time of one minute 37.35 seconds. Canadian Eric Guay was second and Swiss skier Ambrosi Hoffmann third.
Bear and Branch will compete in a World Cup downhill race at the Italian resort tonight.
