Small Slip up in the Super G Event
Australia’s speeding bullet Greta Small has had her first slip up at her debut Olympic Games after missing a gate in the Super G event at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre on Saturday.
In what has been a stellar start to her Olympic career, the 18-year old missed one of the gates after the last jump of the course. She was ten gates from the finish line, which was just in sight, before she made a mistake and recorded a DNF in what is her third of five events here in Sochi.
Small was not the only one to find trouble out on the course with 17 others in the 48-strong-field not completing the course and at one point eight of the first 11 unable to record a result.
Austria’s Anna Fenninger managed to stay on course and record the best time – 1:25.52 – to claim the Gold medal with Super Combined Gold medallist Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany winning Silver and Fenninger’s teammate Nicole Hosp the Bronze.
Small was just under two seconds behind Fenninger midway through the course as she pushed to match her 15th place finish in the Super Combined event.
“It was a really tough Super G,” said the 18-year-old.
“It is really unusual for that amount of people to go out.
“I did readjust my line coming into that solitary jump but it just wasn’t quite enough and I didn’t finish. I am annoyed with myself but that is the nature of the sport.”
The youngster has performed with experience well beyond her years in Sochi and was confident of another strong finish while out on course.
“I was feeling good, I was feeling strong out there.
“After the Downhill the gates in the Super G come at you really fast so you have to be really active and looking ahead and I just didn’t adjust my line enough and adjust. ”
Small will finish her debut Olympic program with the Giant Slalom and Slalom in the coming days.
“I’m looking forward to putting some fast runs down in those events.
“I’m just going to be put in the fastest runs I can. I was pretty proud that I was the third fastest at the first split (in the Super Combined Slalom). If I can put a run down with no mistakes then we will see what happens.”
Despite being one of only two 18-year-olds in the Alpine field Small admits that the nerves of Olympic competition have yet to trouble her.
“I’m not nervous at all out there. I think I was more nervous walking out at the Opening Ceremony than I was on any of my runs.
“I am just really excited to be racing here and I’m looking forward to my final two races.”
24-year-old Fenninger who was eight in the event in Vancouver won Austria’s second Gold medal on the Rosa Khutor slopes after Mattias Mayer claimed the Men’s Downhill.
Hoefl-Riesch added her second Sochi medal to her tally after standing on top of the podium in the Super Combined while Hosp claimed Silver in that event to add to her Silver from the Torino Games.
Small competes in the Giant Slalom on Tuesday and then the Slalom on Thursday.
-AOC
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