Piera Hudson (Hawkes Bay, 26 years old) has successfully defended her yellow bib at the FIS Australia New Zealand Cup Slalom Series held at Coronet Peak in Queenstown.
Hudson came out on top as the fastest Kiwi or Australian athlete in the Slalom event across the two-day series held over the 22-23 of August 2022
“It’s great to win it and to defend my title, it has been a few years since we have been able to hold these races due to Covid-19, so it’s nice to have them back,” said Hudson.
This achievement means that Hudson has now qualified herself a personal start position on the World Cup slalom circuit for this coming northern hemisphere season.
Hudson explained “For me going into the northern hemisphere season it means I have secured my own spot on the World Cup tour, I can start in bib 31 at Nor-Ams and Europa Cups and it also helps with my budget as I get free accommodation at certain races, it really helps out which is great.”
Mikayla Smyth (Auckland, 17 years old) was the fastest U18 athlete from any nation competing in today's FIS ANC Slalom event, proving that the New Zealand talent pathway is deep in slalom ski racing.
The FIS ANC series will continue on Saturday with two Super G races, followed by two Giant Slalom races on Sunday and Monday as the opening events of the 2022 Winter Games NZ.
20 months ago