ALPINE SKIING: It was an unprecedented road for Katie Parker to get to Beijing. The dedication and determination driven by the support of her family helped the first-time Olympian reach the start gate at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre for the women's slalom event.
Based in Utah, USA, Katie’s Beijing arrival was delayed due to COVID-19 testing issues which forced Katie to miss her opening giant slalom event on Monday. However, when she did finally make it to Beijing a positive test threatened to derail her Olympic debut.
A flurry of late negative tests however meant Katie’s Olympic dream was still alive, finding out at 5am she was able to compete.
Despite the ideal conditions and warmer air temperatures, the course was fast and challenging with hard packed snow and an icy first section. The 65 gates were set by the best technical coaches in the business.
While Katie’s competitors had been training on the Yanqing course for more than a week, the first time she laid eyes on the Olympic venue was hours before her event. She was also coming off more than a week in isolation, an extremely challenging lead in for any athlete let alone one making their Olympic debut.
The 23-year-old showed enormous resilience to make the starting gate. Unfortunately the first few icy gates pitched her too far forward on her turn, which forced her to straddle a gate. The failed gate ended Parker’s run and sadly her Olympic campaign.
“I really struggled unfortunately.” Katie said.
“But I was just really happy to push out of the start gate. I didn’t know I was racing until five o’clock this morning.
“I tried really hard to get here, I earned my spot on this team and now I’m an Olympian. I’m exhausted but so happy to be here.
“I was so nervous today but I had a moment in the start gate where I was just so grateful to be here.”
“I’m so grateful for my family, they helped get me into skiing and I couldn’t have got through the last few weeks without them.”
As it turned out, she wasn’t the only racer to come unstuck by those early gates. Former Olympic champion and gold medal favourite Mikeala Shiffrin from the United States of America also crashed out of the event after missing the fourth gate of the run.
Deserving a well-earned break, it hopefully won’t be long before we see Katie back in action as the young talent continues to climb the mountain and represent Australia in Alpine Skiing.
Shannon Knaus
#HaveAGo
Alpine Skiing
CAN YOU SKI IN AUSTRALIA?
Yes! There are 10 Ski Resorts in Australia that are easy to access.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Skiing is very affordable to #HaveAGo. You can rent all the equipment you need which is a low-cost way to try snowsports.
WHAT KIT DO I NEED?
All you need to get going is skis, poles, ski boots, a helmet, snow jacket, gloves and pants. All these items can be rented from ski shops to help get you started without having to buy everything for your first time.
