Kiwi teenager wins junior world title
Kiwi snow sports prodigy Alice Robinson has been crowned junior world champion in the giant slalom.
The 17-year-old from Queenstown has won the Alpine World junior ski championships in Val di Fassa, Italy, and is now ranked No 1 in the world for under-18 women’s GS.
It is the first time a New Zealander has won a junior world title in alpine ski racing and follows on from last week’s Slopestyle championship win by fellow Kiwi Zoi Sadowski Synnott.
‘‘Winning is incredible,’’ Robinson said. ‘‘I arrived in Val di Fassa with some good results in my last races and a good experience at the world championships in Are, but I knew that there were some really strong athletes here.
‘‘Being able to win in the first race at the junior world championships is incredible.’’
She will race again today and is looking to improve her world ranking and could get close to the top 30 in the world for giant slalom.
Robinson had a strong buildup to the event with a win and a second-place finish at European Cup GS in Berchtesgaden, followed by a 17th place finish at the senior world championships in Are, Sweden last week.
Sitting in second place after run one, 0.9s behind Slovenian Meta Hrovat, Robinson recorded the fastest time on run two to take the win by 1.06s. A fall from Hrovat put her out of the medals, opening the way for Swiss skier Camille Rast to take the silver medal, and Norway’s Kaja Norbye the bronze.
Robinson has also earned the chance to compete at the World Cup finals in Andorra on 17 March.