Young Aussie Alpine skier wins gold in FIS Slalom races

National Alpine Team skier, Rebecca Brown, 19, has won gold in the FIS Slalom Race in Shigakogen, Japan on Monday.

“Best day of my life!” Brown said of her win and a low score of 27.92 points against her FIS rankings.

“Training has been awesome the last week. Hard work does pay off eventually. I would like to thank my dad/coach for all his hard work and the rest of my family” she said.

Conditions on the course saw morning snow followed by rain, slowing down the runs.  Though Brown was able to prevail up against a number of good high ranking Japanese junior girls she regularly competes against.

Sharing the podium were Japanese skiers, Risa Takahashi and Chisaki Maeda in second and third.

This win gives Rebecca her second FIS gold medal for Slalom, and a career best result for her by a large margin. Slalom being her best event, she has had several placings in the top 10 in FIS races in her career so far.

"It is a big step showing that she is continuing in the right direction and I hope that this inspires her to keep working hard and hope she finds continues success for the remainder of the season" said coach Brad Wall of her performance development.

Rebecca will compete in Shigakogen again on 28 February with two Giant Slalom and two Slalom races, leading into a full race schedule in March.