Sun Peaks - Training Site for the Austrian National Ski Team

With a commendable performance in both the FIS World Cups and the 2006 Turin Olympic Games, the Austrian National Ski Team has demonstrated it is a force to be reckoned with. Austria earned an impressive 23 medals in the Turin Olympics and 22 of them were obtained by the country’s ski team. As you can see, the team plays an integral role for Austria in the Olympic Games. In preparation for a number of World Cup competitions and the upcoming 2010 Olympics, the Austrian National Ski Team has been using Sun Peaks Resort as its central training location. Read on to learn more about what the team is up to in Sun Peaks and which athletes to keep an eye out for.

The Team

Austria has remained a strong contender in the competitive skiing community, especially with its recent performance in the 2009 FIS World Cup. A number of the teams’ male and female athletes have clinched a spot in the overall top three for ski jumping, alpine skiing and snowboarding. The team also has prominent athletes in the downhill and Nordic combined events. Familiarize yourself with some of the athletes here and keep a look out for them in the 2010 Olympics:

• Hermann Maier - With four overall World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals and three World Championship titles; Maier is considered one of the best alpine racing athletes in history. Maier specializes in giant slalom, super-G and downhill and has amassed 51 victories out of 54 races in the World Cup circuit.
• Renate Götschl - Renate is a veteran alpine ski champion with a total of 9 women’s World Championships and a silver and gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Renate is known to be the first alpine skier in history to win 10 races at a single World Cup venue.
• Nicole Hosp - This all-around racer is a quadruple-threat winning World Cup races in 4 out of the 5 possible skiing categories (Super-G, giant slalom, slalom and combined). She was also the winner of the overall 2006-07 World Cup and giant slalom World Cup. With a silver medal from the 2006 Turin Games (slalom), Hosp is geared and ready for 2010!

Training in Sun Peaks

Since 2005, the Austrian National Ski Team has been training intensely at Sun Peaks Resort, the team’s North American training home. More than 100 athletes, trainers, coaches and officials from the Austrian Men’s and Women’s Downhill and Technical teams have used the first class resort for World Cup and Olympic training in the Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super-G and Downhill events.

Athletes have been extremely pleased with the training facilities available to them at Sun Peaks. The team has had exclusive access to the Nancy Greene International Race Centre each year for one month prior to racing season. With three courses stocked with snowmaking mechanisms, timing and safety equipment; the Race Centre has provided everything necessary for an elite alpine training facility. The Austrians will continue training in Sun Peaks until the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler.