Tag Archives: Olympics

Season Done

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After a long Northern Hemisphere season and feeling exhausted, I’ve had a much needed break and it’s time to update and get ready for the new season!

Kranjska Gora World Cup

Moving on from my last post, after the Olympics we headed back to Europe to continue on the World Cup giant slalom circuit.  My energy levels were hitting rock bottom and I got sick after leaving Korea.  Spent four days in bed prior to the next WC race at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia and almost didn’t race.  Conserved my energy in the warm up and was then surprised how well I did in some tough conditions with fresh snow leading up to the race.  Starting bib 50 I moved up to 35 just 0.8 seconds off making top 30.  On arriving back to our Austrian base, I managed to find a doctor working on Sunday and picked up some antibiotics for what turned out to be strep throat.    From Europe we headed over to Canada to race in the NorAm finals but with no NorAm points, flat terrain and more fresh snow I was frustrated to not perform so well.  After the NorAms in Kimberley, BC I headed on to Red Mountain BC for the Canadian Nationals, Willis headed south to Sun Valley and coach headed home back to New Zealand.

Canada

Canadian Nationals, Giant Slalom

Frustratingly we had another foot of fresh snow the night before the races but at least there was a little more gradient on the mountain and I picked up a podium spot for the giant slalom, unfortunately without much slalom training the slalom races could have gone better.

After the Canadian Nationals it was finally time for some down time so a couple of days after arriving back home in New Zealand I hopped over the ditch to Australia for the last  of summer warmth to recharge.  Had an amazing time just relaxing and exploring beaches along the eastern coast before it was time to head home and start back into my dryland programme.

Fraser Island, Australia

Not all dryland happens in the gym, having some fun on the bike

Along the Arrow River

The Northern Hemisphere season was again filled with amazing experiences, along with ups and downs, all of it made possible with help from my Team, generous sponsors, supporters, friends and family, not to mention Fans! Thank you one and all for your ongoing support.

Team Edwards, Snowvision Foundation, One Studio, NZSki, Sotheby’s International, Browns Ski Shop, Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Club, Skeggs Foundation, Community Trust of Southland, Just Dig It, ZoiBri Trust, Robert Moore Chiropractor, Alpine Health & Fitness, Avoca, Merrell NZ,  XTM Performance, Auckland Bone & Joint Surgery, McClean & Co, One Square Meal, Adidas, Remarkables Physio

2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics

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Stunning experiences in Korea but the journey is not over. Back to Austria now and I will be racing again next week in Kranjska Gora! Thank you to everyone for all the kind words and support!! It was unbelievable to walk into the opening ceremony with team NZ and all the other great nations.

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Our first race was scheduled for the 15th so we were able to get in some great training prior to the races, as well as getting used to the time zone and conditions.

Training at Yongpyong
Checking out the start gate
Training
Freezing -20 not to mention chill factor
Awesome Shred!

A number of races were rescheduled due to strong winds with our first race postponed a day. First up was an amazing day for the Super G at Jeongseon – unfortunately made a pit stop near the top and lost my speed.  Managed to save it but unable to pick up those lost seconds.  Giant slalom on the 18th – while I had some great sections I just had too many time costing mistakes to put me in the top 30 which meant I missed the valuable advantage of making the flip.  I was happy with my slalom however was not able to finish my run.

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And the closing ceremony – a few images although we missed it as had to leave early to be back to our base in Austria to continue training for the next world cup race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

A few images of my experiences in South Korea – with a number of interviews, family visits, trips to the beach to explore the Fire Art Festa at Gyeongpo Beach, food people and places

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After a real roller coaster ride, it is farewell to South Korea with another incredible experience to add to my journey and I now need to work hard to regroup and re-energize for the next World Cup.

Pyeongchang 2018

Farewell 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics!!

Austria 2018 28th Feb

Back in Austria now in time for the “Beast from the East” big Chill for Europe

Farewell NZ – Hello NH!

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Final round-up to the season came with the Snow Sports Awards at Wanaka where I picked up the Alpine Athlete of the Year award and my coach Nils Coberger picked up the Coach of the Year. (below with Corey Peters Adaptive Athlete of the year)

Coach of the year
Alpine Athlete of the Year
Award Winners

The last couple of weeks of my brief taste of summer at home went far too quickly but managed to get in some quality strength and conditioning sessions with Ben Griffin and the team.   Also had time for the odd bike ride and a few Pilates sessions.  One Studio  organized a really interesting session for us at the Auckland University wind tunnel where we worked on finding our best tuck positions.

Seven Mile
Wilson Bay
Wind Tunnel

We headed over to Europe a little earlier this year as we get ready to start training on the World Cup piste at Sölden, Austria and arrived into Munich on the 16th October to a pleasant 20º C  blue skies and looking very green!  It will take a few days to get used to the time zone but after that long series of flights we were pretty exhausted.  We then made our way south of Innsbruck, Austria towards our base for the next couple of weeks where we will be training before the first World Cup at the famous Sölden!

Many thanks again to all my sponsors, supporters, friends and family.  It is going to be a big season and I’ll do my best to keep you up to date.

‘Season Highlights’

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My Northern Hemisphere season is at an end and I am enjoying being back home in Queenstown.  I had some amazing experiences attending my first Olympics, met goals and once again met amazing people and visited some great places.  Thank you to all my sponsors and supporters who make this possible, especially my parents.  Huge thanks to my coach, Nils Coberger who goes the extra mile – looking forward to the coming seasons.  Also many thanks to Zobri Trust, Adastra Foundation, Community Trust of Southland, Skeggs Foundadion, Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Club, Guenther Raedler, Hefin & Christine, Snowvision & Browns Ski Shop, NZ Skimasters, XTM, POC Australia & NZ, HEAD, Komperdell, Alpine Health & Fitness Queenstown, NZSki.com, and all my supporters out there.  I’ve put together a few photo below from my time in Europe and Sochi, enjoy!

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The Olympics

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What an amazing experience it has been to race at my first Olympics.  From my arrival in Sochi through to the closing ceremony, I have enjoyed the full experience.  Many thanks to all those on the team who supported me  – Ginny Rutledge for the physio, Chris Mosaed for ski prep and support, and all the staff involved behind the scenes making life run smoothly for all of the athletes.

closing nz 1

closing 18    closing 11

closing outside 1   closing olympics

The slalom was my final event and consisted of a night race on the 22nd February. First run started 4.45pm but it took a bit of time to my start with bib 63 out of a field of 117.  Moved up a few spots to 50 for the second run which was quite late with my run around 9.00pm.  The 2nd course set was by Croatian Ante Kostelic and had a very high attrition rate from many of the top guys through to the last.  I had a plan but ended up just surviving and was very pleased to place 25th at the end of the night.

slalom olympics

http://vimeo.com/87360528

The giant slalom race was on the 19th with 109 competitors from all over the world and I finished in 44th position.  By the time my run started the conditions were quite rough and the course was very long.  I was happy with my second run and in general with the course – stoked to have finished where I did in this Olympics.  My body felt pretty sore by evening from the bumpy ride and the long day.

Olympics GS (2)adam and trace         finish area

Adam Barwood NZL

Another new experience was the volume of interviews that had to be done.

scotty  Sky TV

Now back in Austria and will be getting back into a busy race schedule over this next week.

2014 Olympics – Sochi, Russia

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Final count down is on as I pack my bags ready for the journey to Russia!  I will arrive in the early hours of the morning which I’m not looking forward to but I will be in Sochi in time for the opening ceremony which will be an amazing experience.

There are complicated regulations around what athletes can and can not do during the Olympics. Because of this I may not post a great deal over the next few weeks but hopefully I can get a few pictures to put up here or at least on my facebook athlete page.

I have had an amazing journey getting to where I am today and it would not have been possible without the support and generosity of so many people, sponsors and coaches along the way, thank you one and all, and especially my parents, Marty and Anne and my coach Nils Coberger. sochi 2014 sochi night  olympic flags olympic villages     olympic village

2014 Olympics, Sochi Russia

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It’s official! I have been named to the 2014 New Zealand Olympic team. Super excited to ski as fast as I can in Sochi. A big thank you to all who have helped me along the journey. I will be racing the slalom and Giant slalom and will be leaving on the 5th February from Austria.

In the lead up to my departure I have several more races that I will be competing in including my World Cup debut in the slalom night race at Schladming in 4 days time, which will be another amazing experience. Then two FIS races in Piesendorf. As well as races I will have a few more training days at Reiteralm and Hinterreit.

Zell EC

Zell am See – first Europa Cup