Worsley ski trailblazer Anna Kamaly-Asl showed all of her steel to bounce back for a medal double on the opening day of the English Alpine Skiing Championships in Bormio, Italy.
The 13-year-old – who trains at Chill Factore with Manchester Ski Club – felt the need for speed with back-to-back bronze and silver in Super-G, an event where piste pace is king.
But it wasn’t as simple as that, the former Manchester High School pupil making a mistake late in her first run only for timing boards to show her four seconds ahead, in error.
A race of 53.45s was still enough for her to reach the Under-14 rostrum in the morning race, improving for 52.63s in the afternoon to collect serene silver.
“I’m really happy with my result,” said the British Ski Academy (BSA) star.
“You’ve just got to try to put something like that first mistake behind you. You’ve got to focus on each run as it comes to you.
“I tried to send it hard in the second run – I managed to nail the section I messed up on the previous run which was pleasing.
“It’s all about learning from it, you’re never going to eliminate the mistakes, it’s just how you recover from them.”
A lead-in BSA camp in Aosta, nestled in the Italian Alps, helped the teenager and her teammates hit the powder running, sweeping the podium in the morning event.
The English Championships, where Olympian Dave Ryding started his career before competing in the World Cup, is one of the biggest annual competitions in the skiing calendar.
More than 440 athletes have descended on the resort for six days of riveting racing in pitch-perfect piste conditions across Super-G, Giant Slalom and Slalom disciplines.
And having worked hard to improve her skills in the giant slalom – a more technical event, placing more pressure on racer’s turns – Wednesday’s event can’t come soon enough.
“I’ve been working on my giant slalom a lot,” explained the youngster.
“We’ve been really working on that and Wednesday is a chance to put it in practice. I hope I’ll keep seeing the benefits of my hard work.”
Snowsport England is the national governing body for skiing and snowboarding in England, aiming to inspire as many people as possible to try snow sports. Find out more about Snowsport England’s affiliated clubs, athletes, competitions, coaching and campaigns here:http://www.snowsportengland.org.uk
