Saying goodbye to Sochi

With all NSWIS athletes having finished their competitive duties at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, the focus now turns towards the closing ceremony and the march toward a new Winter Olympic cycle.

The Sochi Games have seen a number of fantastic results from NSWIS athletes, highlighted by a silver medal to Torah Bright (@TorahBright) in the women’s snowboard half-pipe, as well as a seventh place finish in the women’s snowboard slopestyle.

The three time Winter Olympian has been at the forefront of Australia’s success since her first campaign in 2006, however a host of fellow NSWIS athletes now appear ready to fly the flag into the future.

A further five NSWIS athletes achieved top-10 finishes in Russia, most notably moguls skierBritt Cox (@BrittyCox), who finished fifth in the women’s moguls. Katya Crema(@KatyaCrema) notched a seventh place finish in the women’s ski cross, Belle Brockhoff(@bellebrockhoff) and Russ Henshaw (@RussHenshaw) each posted eighth place finishes in the women’s snowboard cross and men’s ski slopestyle, respectively, while Kent Callister(@kentcallister) added a ninth place finish in the men’s snowboard half-pipe on Olympic debut.

Outside of the top-10 performances there were several significant results which added to Australia’s success at the Games, with bobsleigh athlete Jana Pittman (@JanaPittman), skeleton slider John Farrow (@JohnFarrowAUS) and biathlete Alex Almoukov (@Almoukov) all setting new records.

Pittman became the first Australian female to compete at the Summer and Winter Games, finishing an equal Australian-best 14th in the women’s bobsleigh in the process; Farrow posted an Australian-best record of 17th in the men’s skeleton just over two years removed from a horrific leg injury, and youngster Almoukov broke a 30 year old record when he finished 45th in the men’s 20km individual event.

A total of 29 NSWIS athletes competed at the Sochi Games, a record number for the Institute, equating to nearly half of the 60 strong Australian team, and with 24 of the 29 NSWIS athletes under the age of 25, the future for winter sports in Australia looks bright.

The Winter Paralympic Games come next in Sochi, where five NSWIS athletes are scheduled to compete for Australia, before the Olympic movement returns to the summer months when the Games descend on Rio de Janeiro in 2016.