An update from skier Ellie Koyander

A couple of weeks ago, skier Ellie Koyander sent us an update about her progress in 2011.

"This season began well for me with a top 20 finish in Meribel, France back in December 2010.
I then flew home for a very short but really enjoyable break over Christmas, and then straight out to Mt Gabriel, Canada for the next World Cup mogul event."




"The whole spring, summer and autumn has been about being aggressive and just skiing with the dial cranked to '11' . I am 2 seconds faster this season which in any World Cup skiing discipline is a huge leap. Converting training into a competition product takes time and the Mt Gabriel comp was a great learning experience as I was able to turn my skiing up and was on the edge the entire run skiing faster than ever. I did have a few leg splits because of my new found aggressiveness which meant several deductions from the 7 judges but dynamically my skiing was great and I finished up 26th place knowing exactly how to push myself for the next event in Lake Placid, USA."

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"When we arrived in Lake Placid it rained and rained and rained all day on the first day - but training goes according to strict schedules and we skied regardless! Then the next day the temperature plummeted to a freezing -20C turning the mogul course into a blue/black ice skating rink! I had to focus on trying to keep my feet underneath me and to stay in control - skiing the ice demands a lot of mental agility. Again I pushed myself hard out of the start gate with more speed than ever before and went HUGE on my 360 at the top air! This was great, only I landed three meters further down the landing hill than in training , landing in the moguls and having to fight hard not to get spat out by the treacherous icy bumps and ended up 26th place again."

"I am feeling confident about my skiing and have been able to learn a lot from each event. With the pieces all working as well as they are, it is only a matter of time before I lay a perfect run down in a competition environment and I'm excited about that!"

"I now head to Sweden for the next event, pumped up and ready to ski fast, jump big and just go for it!"



Now, since Ellie sent us this update came the amazing news she's been selected as an Olympic Torchbearer on the 30th June in Burton on Trent - more details here 

You can follow the rest of Ellie's journey leading to the 2014 Winter Olympics at www.twitter.com/elliekoyander             www.facebook.com/elliekoyander       www.elliekoyander.com

And, well done Ellie so far!

Don't forget our Winter Sports Stars in 2012...

With 2012 being the year of the Summer Olympics in Britain, it’s easy to forget that GB has a great line up of competitors in Winter Sports.

Only two weeks ago, Britain’s top Skeleton Racer Shelley Rudman (above) achieved the first win of the season in Germany, being fastest on both runs at Konigssee to beat silver medallist Marion Thees by half a second.

At the time, the win moved Shelley up to 3^rd in the overall standings after five of eight races – but just today, she tweeted she’d moved up to 2^nd place in the World Championship rankings.

Shelley, who is 30, is no stranger to medals though – she took the Olympic silver medal in 2006, was European Champion in 2011 and took bronze at this year’s European Championships on the 7^th January.

She’s currently taking part in round six before the final two legs take place in Whistler and Calgary in Canada.  The season then reaches an end with the World Championships at Lake Placid, which runs from 13th 26^th February.

Zoe Gillings (above), Britain's No 1 snowboarder, last week finished a very impressive 7th place at the Veysonnaz Snowboard Cross World Cup in Switzerland, fending off stiff competition from the Olympic Silver medallist, Deborah Antonioz.

Out of a large field of 24, Zoe achieved a faster qualifying time than the Olympic Gold medallist Maelle Ricker – and it was her highest qualification so far this season.

She’s on track for success in the 2014 Winter Olympics – but from the end of last season, whe her funding from UK Sport was cancelled, Zoe has relied solely on her personal sponsors – Pokerstars, Neteller, BMW and Isle of Man Sports Aid to provide her with an Olympic training program.

And then on Sunday (22 January 2012) Zoe just missed out on podium finish at the latest World Cup Snowboard cross event in Switzerland – finishing an amazing fourth place.

She is now ranked seventh in the world, and heads to the prestigious invite only X-Games event in Colorado for her next competition on January 27-28.