The sun continued to shine over the English Alpine Ski Championships in Bormio as they entered their fifth and final day. The high standard of racing continued with the National Junior (NJR) Slalom on the Adler piste and the Under 14/Under 16 Super G on the Stelvio course. ...Â
For the NJR Slalom, the sun was shining from the off, warming up the snow as the day went on. The day's action kicked off with the Ladies Slalom as Beth Widdup skied into second, clocking a decent time of 52.66 seconds. After Darcie Mead (52.98) and Yasmin Cooper (53.79) couldn't quite clock a time as fast as Beth, it was up to Anna Henderson to finish as the fastest Brit after the first run, recording a time of 52.58.
With such narrow gaps between the top British racers, the second run was always going to be a nail biter. Darcie pulled out all the stops to clock a second run time of 53.37, finishing with a total time of 1.46.35. It was then up to Anna and Beth to try and beat Darcie's overall time, but neither of them could catch her, with Anna finishing second with a total time of 1.46.86 and Beth third in 1.47.24. Despite not beating Darcie's time, Anna finished as top U18 athlete overall, with Yasmin Cooper (1.47.41) 2nd overall - a great achievement in the last race of the Championships. The overall winner was Veronica Olivieri (Italy) who clocked an impressive time of 1.43.09.
Darcie Mead said: “I'm really happy with today's result, although my first run wasn't great. I haven't been on my slalom skis much this season, but I really found it back on my second run. I'm really happy to have managed to pull it out of the bag today.”
Anna Henderson said: “I was pretty happy with my first run today, and on my second run I was a bit on the edge, but overall it has been a good day. I am happy with getting on the podium in the U18 category as I thought there may have been some Italian girls sneaking in there! This week has been a big boost to my confidence, and I have definitely made a step forwards. Now it is back to school for a few weeks before I start preparing for the British Champs in Tignes.”Â
In the men's NJR Slalom, Robert Poth (17, Potters Bar), took advantage of good early snow conditions, clocking the second fastest overall time in his first run, and the fastest British time finishing in 48.09 seconds. Next quickest British racer was Ollie Davies (17, Guildford) in a time of 50.62, followed by George Davis (19, Frocester) who clocked 51.48. The course continued to soften throughout the day making it difficult for the later starters to match the earlier times. In the second run, Robert was desperately close to keeping his second place, but despite skiing well, got pushed down into fourth place, missing third by 0.15 seconds. He did claim a podium place in the U18 category though, taking third position. Overall winners were Manuel Hug (Liechtenstein) who won in a time of 1.39.22, with Alec Scott (Australia) taking second in 1.39.80 and Luka Krsmanovic (Croatia) third in 1.39.94.
Robert Poth said: “I am pretty happy. My first run was good and I was really pleased I took advantage of the good conditions. On my second run my steep section wasn't so good, but I made up some good time on the flat to get closer to the leader. I think it is a PB for me so I am pretty pleased. I am going home now for a few days and then will get prepared for the British Champs and hopefully achieve some good results there.”
In the U14/U16 Super G, the athletes contended with two speed races - the English Championship Race in the morning and a BARSC race in the afternoon.
In the U14 Girl's English Championship, Sarah Woodward (13, North Warnborough) had another excellent result after her Slalom win, taking the Super G title in a time of 56.74 seconds finishing over 2 seconds ahead of Siena Horton (12, Bromsgrove) who placed second in 59.00. Daisi Daniels (12, Rochdale) took third in a time of 59.26. The results in the BARSC race were: 1st Daisi Daniels (58.50), 2nd Siena Horton (1:00.11), 3rd Olivia Foster (1:00.13).
Hannah Loeffen-Gallagher (14) took her first titles of the week winning the U16's girls English Championships Super G in a time of 56.08. Behind Hannah was Olivia Ward (Wales) in a time of 57.33 with Meghan Davis (Scotland) finishing third in 57.50. The 2nd fastest English athlete was Alicja Krahelski (15, London) with third fastest English athlete Shana Danenbergsons (14, Barking) earning a time of 58.51. The results in the BARSC race were: 1st Hannah Loeffen-Gallagher (55.86), 2nd Emile Danig (56.80), 3rd Alicja Krahelski (57.14).
In the U14 boy's English Championships, Scottish skier Owen Vinter had another good result winning the Super G by over two seconds in a time of 56.35. Second fastest skier and English Champion was George Case (13, Yeovil) who clocked a time of 56.35. Chasing the times of Vinter and Case was third placed Thomas Hudson (14, Bury St Edmunds) with a time of 56.80 and James Colley (13, Kingston Upon Thames) finishing fourth overall and third fastest English athlete in a time of 57.44. The results in the BARSC race were: 1st Owen Vinter (54.06), 2nd George Case (55.63), 3rd Thomas Hudson (56.69).
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For the U16 Boys Super G, Scottish racer Kieran Troup (53.83) took victory from Angus Wills (15, London), who was crowned English Champion with a time of 54.12 - this followed his Slalom win earlier in the week. Scott Buchan from the Scottish Ski Club came third in a time of 54.78. Second fastest English skier was Toby Deighton (15, New Malden) in 55.33 and third fastest was Nathan Breese (15, Stourport on Severn) in 55.44. The results in the BARSC race were: 1st Angus Wills (53.83), 2nd Scott Buchan (54.24), 3rd Nathan Breese (54.28)
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Today is the conclusion of the English Alpine Ski Championships, with it being confirmed that the Championships will return to Bormio again in 2016. Snowsport England would like to thank the continued sponsorship and support of the event by Energiapura, Vital Marketing, Rossignol, Endsleigh, SkiBartlett, Ski Bitz, SkiRacing Supplies, Racer Ready and Fine Designs.