WINTER GAMES NZ. QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand (August 20 2011) - An eleventh hour entry from top ranked Austrian athletes in the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games alpine ski events has set the scene for outstanding World Cup level competition at Coronet Peak when racing starts on August 22.

Legendary Austrian Mario Matt, ranked number three in the world in slalom and team mate Marcel Hirscher, ranked sixth in slalom and 12th in giant slalom join the previously announced “rockstars,” reigning Olympic Super G gold medallist Aksel Lund Svindal and Olympic giant slalom silver medallist Kjetil Jansrud of Norway. The pair are ranked third and fourth in the world respectively in giant slalom.

The 2009 winner of the Winter Games ANC slalom Felix Neureuther of Germany, currently ninth in the world, is expected to make a strong bid to retain his title. Fellow countryman Fritz Dopfer, the current German National Slalom champion, is likely to make his presence felt at the top end.

Winner of an Air New Zealand Southern Cup slalom at Coronet Peak this week, Akira Sasaki of Japan, is on form while Sweden’s Jon Olsson could prove a threat after winning one of the ANZ Southern Cup giant slalom titles.

Canada’s Philip Brown, winner of the second ANZ Southern Cup giant slalom and runner-up Colby Granstrom of USA, along with third place getter David Donaldson of Canada will all compete on the Winter Games giant slalom course.

Emerging world cup skiers from the USA , Canada and other European teams training in the Southern Lakes will reinforce the significant line-up of alpine racing talent while Kiwi Olympic representatives Ben Griffin and Tim Cafe will fly the flag for New Zealand, along with up and coming racers Adam Barwood and Willis Feasey.

The women’s giant slalom and slalom races will also provide exciting action amongst the top seeds with world number 3 Veronika Zuzulova one of the slalom favourites after winning silver and bronze medals at World Cup races in Europe this year.

World Cup exponents to be watched are Susanne Reisch of Germany who took out the silver medal in one of the ANZ Southern Cup slaloms ahead of team mate Lena Duerr in third place, who is highly ranked in both giant slalom and slalom. ANZ Southern Cup giant slalom winner Ragnchild Mowinckel of Norway and Avril Dunleavy of USA winner of both the recent Treble Cone and Cardrona FIS slaloms will be looking to make their mark at the Winter Games.
New Zealand’s top woman alpine ski racer Sarah Jarvis and leading junior Taylor Rapley will also be on show.

The ANC Cup alpine races have attracted big fields from all over the world including Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Monaco, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and USA.

The 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games alpine skiing programme starts on Monday 22 August at Coronet Peak with the men’s giant slalom, followed by the women’s giant slalom on Tuesday 23 August and both men’s and women’s slaloms on 24 August. The Super G takes place at Mt Hutt on Saturday 27 August.

The adaptive alpine giant slalom is scheduled for August 23 and the slalom August 25 at Coronet Peak. The adaptive Super G will be raced at Mt Hutt on August 28.

www.wintergamesnz.com
Sat, August 20, 2011 7:20 am

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