It has been an incredible start to 2017 for Britain’s elite ski and snowboard stars with January 2017 seeing what is believed to be a record haul of 10 bronze, silver and gold medals in World Cup, World Championships, X Gamesa and Para-Alpine World Championships competitions.
January highlights included Dave Ryding becoming the first British alpine racer to stand on the podium in more than 35 years when he won slalom silver at the Kitzbuhel slalom and Big Air golds for both women (Katie Omerod on a board) and men (James ‘Woodsy’ Woods on skis) as well as the most successful Skiing World Championships by a British athlete with three medals for Millie Knight.
The medal haul began when Katie Ormerod became the first ever British snowboarder to win a Snowboard Big Air World Cup after claiming gold in Moscow on 7th January (Pictured top).
Ormeord (19) from Brighouse, Yorkshire claimed the win with her two best runs (out of three) scoring 153.75. She finished ahead of the World Cup leader Anna Gasser from Austria who scored 153.50. The win followed two other World Cup Big Air podium finishes this season – 3rd in Alpensia, Korea and 2nd in Mochengladbach, Germany.
Ormerod said after the victory, “I am really happy to get my first World Cup gold here in Moscow. It was by far the coldest and some of the toughest conditions I’ve ever had to compete in but an amazing place.”
Then a little over a week later on January 15th Dave Ryding scored his best ever result and equalled Britain’s best ever World Cup result by taking silver in the slalom World Cup race at Kitzbuhel.
Ryding led after the first leg and held his nerve to stay ahead of most of the other competitors, but World Cup star Marcel Hirscher for Austria, who had been lying in 8th place a second behind Ryding after the first run, stormed his second descent and won by a third of a second.
Ryding, who ended January lying an incredible 5th in the World Cup standings and stood on his first World Cup podium today, commented after the first run,
”This is incredible, being in the lead here is a dream come true. I thought I’d had a solid run, but the fact I am leading came as a surprise.”
It’s the best result for British Alpine skiing since Konrad Bartelski also took silver in the World Cup Downhill in Val Gardena in 1981.
As January moved in to its final week Millie Knight (18) and her guide submariner Brett Wild’ took top spot in the downhill at the Para-Alpine World Championships in Tarvisio on Wednesday, our first ever Para-Alpine World Championships gold.
It was to be the first of three medal winning performances for the duo, who also took silver in Super combined and slalom, joined on the podium for the super combined by Menna Fitzpatrick, guided by army captain Jennifer Kehoe, who took bronze.
More podiums were achieved by Brits around the world with the British Telemark team’s Jasmin Taylor taking silver in the World Cup Telemark Sprint at La Thuile in Italy then bronze at the Telemark World Cup in Krvavec, Slovenia in the Parallel Sprint and Jamie Nicholls taking silver in the World Cup Slopestyle in Seiseralm, Italy (below).
Team GB’s fifth medal in the last seven days was a bronze medal for in-form Katie Ormerod (19, Brighouse) in the X Games Snowboard Slopestyle on the last Saturday of the month.
Ormerod said after winning her second medal in one month, “I’m super happy to get my 1st X Games medal!! It’s always been on my bucket list to medal here so I couldn’t be happier! Especially to medal in the most high profile event of the season in such a tough and progressive field of riders.”
Team GB’s Park and Pipe star James ‘Woodsy’ Woods (25, Sheffield) took the British medal haul to five in seven days when he took gold in Ski Big Air at the X Games in Aspen in the early hours of this morning (UK time), the world’s biggest freeskiing and snowboarding competition.
With the next Winter Olympics and Paralympics at PyeyongChang in South Korea just a year away, it looks to be perfect timing.
Team GB January 2017 Medal Haul
Gold: Katie Omerod, Snowboard Big Air World Cup, Moscow
Gold: Millie Knight / Brett Wild, Downhill, Para-Alpine World Championships, Tarvisio
Gold: James ‘Woodsy’ Woods, Ski Big Air, X Games, Aspen
Silver: Dave Ryding, Slalom, Kitzbuhel
Silver: Jamie Nicholls, World Cup Slopestyle, Seiseralm
Silver: Jasmin Taylor, Telemark World Cup, La Thuile
Silver: Millie Knight / Brett Wild, Super Combined, Para-Alpine World Championships, Tarvisio
Silver: Millie Knight / Brett Wild, Slalom, Para-Alpine World Championships, Tarvisio
Bronze: Katie Ormerod, Snowboard Slopestyle , X Games, Aspen
Bronze: Jasmin Taylor, Telemark World Cup, Krvavec
Bronze: Menna Fitzpatrick / Jennifer Kehoe, Super Combined, Para-Alpine World Championships, Tarvisio
