Snowsport
GB 2007-04-05 15:54:00
Competing
down a difficult Super G course which had earlier accounted for seven of the
top ten seeded men, 13 of the top 20, Louise Thomas (19, Guildford) completed
the hat trick of Junior titles today with her Women’s Junior Super G win today
to secure the overall British Junior Women’s Combined Champion title. Thomas
has been a class apart, particularly in Super G and Giant Slalom, proving the
benefit of the past winter of hard work in Val d’Isere with her coach. After a
second last week in the senior Giant Slalom, third in Super G, and fourth in
Slalom Louise has not been short on confidence this week, but today’s course
had two big traps which caught out many of the top boys. “I could have skied it
better, definitely. I had seen where the boys were making their mistakes so I
knew what I had to do and skied safe to finish. It has been a really great
week. You get to know this hill quite well after this year and last. In Super G
and Downhill especially there is not much you can do in terms of the way the
course is set. The gradient and terrain are the same, so you do get to know it
quite well.” Explained Thomas.
Thomas
Baldwin (17, Norfolk), retained the Men’s Junior Super G title he won on the
same slope last year. Racing fifth down the course this morning, he was the
first to actually break the finish line after a succession of rivals faltered
at different points on the course. “I was pretty sure what I was going to do. I
had inspected well. I was first on for inspection this morning and last off, and
I knew I had to scrub off some speed coming into the Panorama section, and
really commit to the outside ski. But I was still a bit sketchy, but that was
fast today.” Said Baldwin, who has been based out of the British Olympic
Association’s base at Lofer with the British Home Nations Development team this
winter. “I really wanted to win today because I did not do so well in the other
events this week, and last year made a clean sweep, so I really had it to do
today.” “It has been a tough winter because of the lack of snow early on. We
did a lot of travelling to Italy and Austria but had some good training. For me
I have been trying to mix it with some of the older guys.”
Runner up
today in the Super G to add to his second in Giant Slalom Greg Samuels (19, Great
Missenden, Bucks) secured the overall British Junior Men’s Combined Champion
title: “I am pleased to win the title, but I could have skied better today. It
was a difficult course with some hard turns and I was really just trying not to
mess up today. I was not thinking of winning the overall title at all. It was
only yesterday when someone mentioned it that I realised I was in contention,
but I really was just concentrating on my skiing.” Said Samuels who is on his
third season on the British Home Nations Development team.
In the
Junior 1 (Year of Birth 1990 & 1991) age-group Scotland’s Sarah Norton
(15, Carrbridge) took the Junior 1 Super G title, finishing runner-up to today
1.18 seconds behind Thomas. Having just skied her first Super G at the seniors
last week when she finished 12th, Norton is tipped as a future speed
disciplines skier by her Scottish Alpine Team coach Sam Liddell: “She shows
good awareness, a good position on her skis and plenty of confidence, she is a
good natural speed skier.” Said Liddell. “ I was hoping for something in the
top five, so a second today was just great.
I have made good progress this winter, really changing the technical way
I ski, so it feels good to make a result like this.” Said Norton who learned to
skin on a golf course near her home at Carrbridge near Aviemore, and progressed
through the Cairngorm Ski Club which produced champions like Alain and Noel
Baxter.
In the
Children’s Slalom which was contested up in Mottaret today Callum Brown (12,
Penrith) who has dual Australian-British nationality won both the overall and
the Children 1 age-group titles, while Christy McKinnon (Troon) won the Girls’
title.
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Results:
The British Junior National Ski Championships, Meribel, France. |
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Junior
Super G |
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Men: |
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1 |
T Baldwin
|
(Norfolk)
|
1:17.37 |
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2 |
G
Samuels |
(Great
Missenden, Bucks) |
1:18.44 |
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3 |
A Macfie
|
(Edinburgh)
|
1:20.52.
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Women: |
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1 |
L Thomas
|
(Guildford)
|
1:23.47 |
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2 |
S Norton
|
(Carrbridge)
|
1:24.65 |
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3 |
M Sole |
(Warks,
Cumbria) |
1:25.48 |
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Junior 1
(Year of Birth 1990 & 1991) |
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Men: |
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1 |
T
Baldwin |
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|
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2 |
B Hall |
(Birmingham) |
1:20.83 |
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3 |
F Clough |
(Chelmsford) |
1:22.54 |
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Women: |
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1 |
S Norton |
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2 |
E McLeod |
(Edinburgh) |
1:25.81 |
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3 |
M Bochaton |
(Chamonix, France) |
1:26.78 |
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The British Children’s National Ski Championships, Meribel, France. |
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Children’s Slalom |
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Girls: |
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1 |
C McKinnon |
(Troon) |
36.54 |
36.60 |
1:13.14 |
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2 |
H Garwood |
(Bourg St Maurice, France) |
36.39 |
37.57 |
1:13.96 |
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3 |
N Harte |
(Barham, Kent) |
37.50 |
38.38 |
1:15.88 |
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Boys: |
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1 |
C Brown |
(Penrith) |
36.59 |
34.94 |
1:11.53 |
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2 |
J Breton |
(Chichester) |
35.66 |
36.79 |
1:12.45 |
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3 |
D Yule |
(La Fouly, Switzerland) |
37.87 |
35.99 |
1:13.86 |
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Children 1 (Year of Birth 1994 & 1995): |
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1 |
C Brown |
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|
|
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2 |
N Moynihan |
(Longfield, Kent) |
38.93 |
37.39 |
1:16.32 |
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3 |
E Macfie |
(Edinburgh) |
40.06 |
39.90 |
1:19.96 |
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Girls: |
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1 |
I Taylor |
(Ascot) |
40.45 |
40.38 |
1:20.83 |
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2 |
A Macey |
(Solihull) |
39.93 |
40.95 |
1:20.88 |
|
3 |
E Evans |
(Chatham) |
41.91 |
40.03 |
1:21.94 |