ALPINE SKIING: The prospect of competing at your first Olympic Winter Games as a teenager and in all five alpine events at Sochi 2014 would be too daunting for most. Yet Greta Small, who turns 18 in October, is not your average teenager and the incredible sacrifices this outstanding young skier, and her family, have made are clearly paying off.

For Small, the plan to compete in more events than any other Australian at Sochi 2014 is another important step on her path to peaking in 2018 and just another exciting opportunity to ski fast and rub shoulders with the superstars of her sport.

“My Sochi campaign is all about gaining experience for the 2018 Olympics in South Korea,” Small said.

“I have no expectations but to enjoy the experience and ski as fast as I can. The Youth Olympic Games taught me that you can only control how you ski on your run and everything else you take it as it comes.”

Small is already an experienced racer. She tackled the full program at 2012 Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, after first being the Opening Ceremony flagbearer. At the recent senior World Championships in February she again contested all five alpine events.

In the 2012/13 northern hemisphere season she raced in more competitions in more countries than ever before and could see herself getting closer and closer to the best senior women in the world.
“I was really happy with last season. I improved to the next level which is what I was looking for,” Small said.

“I went to the North American Cup series and had a podium in the juniors and then (senior) World Championships in February (Austria) was amazing and I made my goal of the top 30 - I placed 25th in the Super Combined.

“When I came down on my second run for the Slalom, the crowd was incredible and the commentators on the Austrian TV said it was an historic place for Australia, which was really amazing for me.”
To be a top alpine racer from Australia is not easy. The ski conditions are more suited to freestyle events, the mountains are not like North America and Europe and the season is shorter. Competing against athletes who skied to school and flew down steep runs before they could walk, is like taking on the Kenyans in marathon running.

Australia’s only alpine world champion and Olympic medallist is Zali Steggall who grew up racing in France.

For that reason Small and her parents decided several years ago to make the huge sacrifice to relocate to Pitztal in Austria. She lives there with her mum Diane for nine months of the year with her father never far away with his job working for an international airline.

She has amazing conditions on her doorstep and access to the best Austrian coaches and trainers. She is driven with her online studies and continues to do well academically. She is one of the fastest junior racers in the world and probably has more frequent flyer kilometres clocked than anyone else. 

Small was born in Wangaratta in Victoria and grew up on the Victorian ski fields. Perth is technically home in Australia however she is never there for long. As she has been doing for the past few weeks she will often train in New Zealand and on the Australian Alps in preparation for the domestic competitions which she has dominated for several years now.

 “I always love skiing in Australia. Standing at the top of heavenly valley at Hotham looking out to Mt Feathertop feels like home and it reminds me why I took up the sport of alpine skiing.”
“The next few months are all about training for the Northern Hemisphere race season. With all my focus on training it is allowing me time to improve on some technical aspects in my skiing that are crucial for me to move to the next level in my racing career.”

And what about the pressure?

“I find it very motivating to be one of the youngest competing in big events like the World Championships. There is absolutely no pressure, I only think about what I need to do to ski faster and then just ski.

“A big goal of mine before Sochi is my World Cup debut this season which is going to be a very exciting experience.”

Small will contest the National Championships at Thredbo next week (12-14 August) along with the other alpine Sochi hopefuls before heading back to New Zealand for the Australian New Zealand Cup (18-19 August).

Andrew Reid
olympics.com.au
@AUSOlympicTeam