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22nd January 2010

Mitchey Greig, Tim Cafe and Ben Griffin will all be representing NZ at the Vancouver, Winter Olympics.

Freeski Association New Zealands (FSANZ) National Team Member, Mitchey Greig, will become New Zealands first Olympic representative in Skier Cross at a Winter Olympic Games. 

Mitchey Greig

Born and raised in Queenstown, Greig (21) learned to ski at Coronet Peak at age three.
 
Ever since then I have had a love affair with skiing and have skied back-to-back winters for the last seven years.
 
Greig had older siblings who raced and following in their footsteps always pushed the boundaries trying to outperform them.
 
Shes an athlete with an eye on the extreme and loves the combination of adrenaline, speed and a good laugh. Her love of adrenaline led her to switch from alpine racing to skier cross, the motocross of skiing, in 2004.
 
For Greig its the big air and non-stop action that she loves about her sport and shes looking to throw down her best performance at Vancouver.
 
Greig is inspired to excel by "the feeling of winning, or achieving a goal, usually involving a good adrenaline rush and laugh along the way.
 
Greigs performances throughout the Northern Hemisphere season have seen her steadily climb the world rankings list.  At present Greig is ranked 28th in the world and with a 15th place finish at a race last weekend and one more competition before the Olympic Games, this week in Lake Placid, her ranking may climb even higher.

Griffin (23), whose ski racing career began in Ohakune, is the current New Zealand Super G and Giant Slalom champion and the 2009 Australia New Zealand Cup overall champion. He has qualified for Olympic selection in both giant slalom and Super G, being ranked 204th and 247th in the world, respectively.

Ben Griffin

Griffins selection to the team is a milestone for him after he broke his neck in 2008 following a trampolining accident. His commitment to recovering and regaining his previous form is reflected in his 2009 results and throughout both the Southern and Northern Hemisphere season his focus has been on selection to New Zealands Winter Olympic team.
 
To get to Vancouver has been my main goal and it will be the highlight of my skiing career.
 
Tim Cafe (22) who has been Griffins training partner and was recently named on the New Zealand National Team, met the Olympic qualification criteria in Super G, being currently ranked 238th in the world.

Tim Cafe

Cafe was brought up in Queenstown training with the Queenstown Alpine Ski Team and was the 2008 New Zealand combined champion and Australia New Zealand Cup overall series winner. In 2009 he was runner-up to both the national Super G and giant slalom titles.
 
His focus throughout 2009 has also been Olympic oriented and he and Griffin say it is an honour to represent New Zealand, which has been a dream for them both since they began competitive skiing as youngsters on the national circuit.
 
This means more to me than anything else I have achieved in my career, says
Cafe. I feel confident that the experience I have gained competing at a World Championships and two World Junior Championships will stand me in good stead at the Olympics.