Greta Small leads Australian Alpine team for World Championships

Snow Australia today announced four athletes who will represent the Australian team at the upcoming 2021 FIS Alpine World Championships and FIS Ski Cross World Championships, including two-times Olympian Alpine skier Greta Small and World Championships debutants Hugh McAdam (Alpine), Robbie Morrison and Douglas Crawford (Ski Cross).

Twenty-year old Hugh McAdam will join top Australian Alpine skier Greta Small in Cortina (Italy), where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships start next Monday and run until the 21 February. Small recently made yet another World Cup comeback from a torn ACL injury, the third major knee injury in her career, and will compete in the Downhill, Super G and Alpine Combined in her fourth FIS World Championships. McAdam will have to make his way into the Giant Slalom and Slalom World Championships races through the qualifying events, scheduled on the 18 February and 20 February respectively. McAdam needs to finish in the top-25 in those races to advance and start in the medal events.

“We are very happy that Greta managed to successfully come back from her injury in time to be in the starting gate in Cortina. She is an impressive athlete and once again has shown the  resilience and determination that has marked her entire career. For her, the World Championships will be a significant milestone in the journey towards the Olympic Winter Games.

“In such a challenging season when many athletes did not get a chance to compete, we are also proud to celebrate some of the talents of our young generation of Alpine and Ski Cross athletes and give them the opportunity to experience for the first time what participating in a World Championship means. This also recognises the focus and hard work the athletes and the staff have put into the development program to get them to this level,” Wordsworth said.

Ski Cross athletes Robbie Morrison and Douglas Crawford will make their World Championships debut in Idre Fjäll (Sweden), where the event has been rescheduled after measures implemented by the Chinese authorities to control the spread of COVID-19 forced the original host Zhangjiakou to withdraw. The Ski Cross World Championships race will be held on the 13 February, on the same course used for three World Cup events in January.

Snow Australia Alpine Director and Olympic Winter Institute of Australia Ski Cross Program Head Coach Shawn Fleming said that the morale in the Australian camp is high despite the injury that prematurely ended the season of top Australian Ski Cross athlete and  two-time Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim, who suffered a dislocated elbow after crashing during a training run in December.

“Obviously Sami’s injury was not in the plan and we wish her all the best for her recovery. The boys have been out this year to gain experience and are becoming more and more comfortable with everything the World Cup is. They also have had promising results with Doug finishing in the top-32 three times already this season.

“Hopefully the exposure of having three races in Idre Fjäll only weeks before the World Championships will make for an easier transition to the big event. It really is a good scenario for our two Aussies, this being their first World Championships experience. They will get to race in a familiar setting and hopefully they will have to contend with very little stress or pressure, which should enable them to perform at their best,” Fleming said.
 
AUSTRALIAN ATHLETES COMPETITION SCHEDULE

2021 FIS Ski World Championships - Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy 

• Monday, Feb 8 - Greta Small, Alpine Combined - Women
• Tuesday, Feb. 9 - Greta Small, Super-G - Women
• Saturday, Feb. 13 - Greta Small, Downhill - Women
• Thursday, Feb. 18 - Hugh McAdam, Giant Slalom Qualification Event - Men
• Friday, Feb. 19 - Hugh McAdam, Giant Slalom - Men*
• Saturday, Feb. 20 - Hugh McAdam, Slalom Qualification Event - Men
• Sunday, Feb. 21 - Hugh McAdam, Slalom - Men*

*if qualified

2021 FIS Ski Cross World Championships - Idre Fjäll, Sweden

• Saturday, Feb. 13 - Douglas Crawford and Robbie Morrison, Ski Cross - Men