Lancaster born speed skier, Jan Farrell, is preparing for seven World Record attempts after finishing sixth in the World Cup circuit’s ranking, in the S1 category. During Jan’s first season in the S1 category the fast-moving Brit reached a personal best speed of 143.946mph during a World Record attempt in Vars, making him the third fastest speed skier in British history.
Jan started his pre-season training on the glaciers of Hinterux, Austria on 22nd May 2014 and now that the season has finished Jan has set his sights on even bigger things, namely a series of unique World Record attempts. The first of the attempts will take place next month, and the seven will include an attempt to be the fastest to ski down a desert sand dune and an attempt to break the world indoor record.
Training for the World Cup season has been a good foundation for Jan’s preparation for the World Record attempts. Now, the skier is embarking on a new regime compromising 250 days in the gym, 80 days training on snow and a strict 4,000 calorie diet. This is all to be overseen by a multidisciplinary medical team, including a number of specialists in their fields.
“Speed is a way of life for me and the World Record attempts are another challenge when I’m not racing the World Cup circuit. People may not know that speed skiing is the fastest non-motorised sport on the planet and by promoting it in this way I’m able to share with people the exhilaration and excitement I feel every day on the slopes,” said Jan, commenting on his upcoming World Record attempts.
The S1 category that Jan competed in for the first time this season allows the alteration of equipment in order to gain maximum speeds, differing from the SDH category which is limited to the standard downhill equipment. This year Jan has been working with a team of experts to experiment with a range of Atomic skis with three different bases, which have allowed him to acceleration from 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds and 0-120mph in less than eight seconds – a time matched by few exotic sports cars.
