It’s crunch time for Australia’s winter athletes striving to qualify for Vancouver. Olympic champion Dale Begg-Smith returns to competition this weekend and the rest of the freestyle athletes are set to begin their World Cup season. Over the next few weeks the make-up of the 2010 Australian Olympic Winter Team will become clearer with the final selection announcements happening in late January.

There have been strong results across many disciplines in the past few weeks. The following is a snapshot of the 2009/10 season to date.

Alpine Skiing
Australia’s two alpine skiers have recorded solid performances in the World Cup season openers. Craig Branch placing 28th and 43rd in full fields and Jono Brauer finished a strong 32nd.

Biathlon
It is a tight struggle between Australia’s leading biathletes, Alexei Almoukov and Mark Raymond for the one spot on the Team. In recent events they were 123rd and 120th in the 20km respectively, and 113th and 122nd in the 10km distance. This is certainly a battle to keep your eye on as the season progresses.

Bobsleigh
Australia’s bobsleigh athletes have had a series of strong performances throughout the 2009/10 season so far. Most recently, Australia recorded 11th and 17th place finishes in the 4-man Bobsleigh World Cup event. In the women’s event pilot Astrid Loch-Wilkinson has had an outstanding start in the America’s Cup events, recording podium finishes with Cecilia McIntosh.
 
Christopher Spring and Duncan Pugh have also had an great opening to the season, with finishes in 4th and 5th in the opening America’s Cup events. Jeremy Rolleston and Duncan Harvey also recorded strong performances in their opening runs, demonstrating promising form for the rest of the season, as well as solid finishes by both Travis Sheehy and Shane McKenzie.

Cross Country
Cross Country Skiing competitors have had an intense couple of weeks in Europe, with solid performances in the opening World Cup events. Australia’s leading women, Esther Bottomley and Aimee Watson, showed form in the pristine surrounds of Finland, giving them a good start to the 2009/10 season on particularly wet conditions. The Australian men worked hard to earn their strong results in the World Cup event, with Ben Sim recording his career-best World Cup result of 59th in the 15km Classic. Paul Murray, Callum Watson and Mark van der Ploeg also performed well in difficult conditions.

Luge
Hannah Campbell-Pegg has recorded another solid result in Luge, finishing 20th at last weekend’s Viessmann World Cup. With just one event left in two qualification events, Hannah is looking in strong contention to qualify for her second Olympic Winter Team.

Short Track Speed Skating  
The 2009/10 World Cup events for Australia’s short track speed skating athletes have been completed this month. Tatiana Borodulina’s impressive top 10 finishes in multiple events throughout the season, have guaranteed her qualification for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m events. Meanwhile, in the men’s field the competition is fierce between Jeremy Beck and Lachlan Hay. The men skate off against one another this weekend to determine who will qualify for the place available in the 1000m event. Pierre Boda, Noah Essaghir, Ronald Caldecutt and Elliott Shriane all recorded solid results throughout the World Cup events, and are athletes to watch in the 2010/11 season.  

Skeleton
The 2009/10 World Cup season has started with a bang for Australia’s skeleton women, with remarkable form leading Emma Lincoln-Smith to 8th and 10th place and Michelle Steele finishing 11th and 12th in recent World Cups. Australia could manage to secure a third female at the Games – an indication of the depth of talent we have developed in this discipline. Melissa Hoar has been winning the Tier 2 events and will get her chance to shine at the next World Cup.

The season also looks bright for the skeleton men, with early America’s Cup performances demonstrating impressive form and representing a chance for Australia to qualify a male athlete. Anthony Deane has recorded 7th, 10th and 8th place finishes, while John Farrow has had an incredible run with 9th, 3rd and 5th place results.

Snowboard
Australia’s half pipe specialists have once again charged the field in the World Cup event at Saas Fee, Switzerland. Torah Bright dominated the women’s competition to win gold and Ben Mates recorded yet another strong finish in the men’s field. His 19th place keeps him in contention for qualification. Torah’s win has guaranteed her qualification for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and with such impressive form she is certainly one to watch as Vancouver approaches.

Speed Skating
Australian records and personal best times have already been smashed in the 2009/10 World Cup season by Australia’s speed skating athletes. Sophie Muir is leading the way for the women, recording impressive times and results, and already skating times faster than the International Skating Union (ISU) Qualifying standards. Ben Southee has demonstrated solid performances across World Cup events, skating faster than the ISU Qualifying standards for the 1500m event last weekend, while Joshua Lose and Daniel Greig have been showing impressive form across a range of distance events throughout the season. Daniel has set new Australian records in the 500m and 1000m events. With one World Cup event left before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, speed skating athletes will be giving their all in this final event.