Aussies ready to hit Alpine World Champs
Published Fri 03 Feb 2023
The 47th FIS Alpine Ski World Championships start on Monday with a small but determined Australian contingent ready to hit the French resorts of Courchevel and Meribel.
Triple-Olympian Greta Small will start her campaign on day one in the alpine combined event, and race the speed events over the course of the opening week.
Going into her fifth World Championships, the 27-year-old has lost none of her passion despite first racing the event as a teenager.
“It has given me a chance to reflect on what I’ve achieved,” said Small. “Going to my first World Championships at just 17 years old and now, ten years later I’m still here chasing my dreams.
“I remember how excited and proud I was to race in Schladming 2013, and I’m going to bring that same energy into Meribel 2023.”
Going into his third World Championships, Harry Laidlaw will be looking to continue the form he has shown already this season.
Currently ranked inside the top five on the Europa Cup standings, Laidlaw is knocking on the door of World Cup points having missed the top 30 by just 0.21s in Schladming last week.
Joining Laidlaw in the men’s technical races is Beijing Olympian Louis Muhlen-Shulte who has also earned some encouraging results on the highly-competitive slalom World Cup circuit.
“This is my first World Championships, so I am very excited about that,” said the 24-year-old. “I have made a lot of changes and progress in my slalom skiing and I am sorting out a few things on the GS side.
“I feel that competing in Beijing at the Olympics in 2022 definitely gives me more experience to draw from, as well as all the World Cup events I have competed in this season.
“I am constantly gaining more knowledge and a better understanding of how to do my best on any given day.”
The FIS Alpine World Championships run from Monday 6 to Sunday 19 February. Predominantly, the women’s events will be held in Meribel and the men’s at Courchevel, with both venues sharing the parallel events.
