New Zealand's youngest competitor at the Winter Olympics has finished in the top half of the pack competing at the Giant Slalom event in Korea.
The women's Alpine programme finally got under way in Pyeongchang today after days of frustrating weather delays including high winds.
Queenstown's Alice Robinson (16) finished 35th out of 81 skiiers today with a combined time of 2:31.19. Her first run was 1:16.66 and she was two seconds faster in her second, clocking 1:14.53.
In a tweet posted by the New Zealand Olympic Team Robinson said: "Being in this environment is a good experience. In 4 years I’ll be older and hopefully higher up the standings.”
Robinson will be back on the slopes - weather permitting - for the Slalom event on Friday.
American Mikaela Shiffrin put on a show of grace, power and consistency to win her first gold of the Games with a combined time of 2:20.02 (first run: 1:10.82, second run: 1:09.20).
Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel took silver with a combined time of 2:20.41 (first run: 1:11.17, second: 1:09.24), whilel Italy's Federica Brignone won the bronze with a combined time of 2:20.48 (first run: 1:10.91, second: 1:09.57).
It was the perfect start for Shiffrin, who won the slalom in Sochi four years ago and could compete in four or five more events in Pyeongchang, with her preferred slalom on Friday.
With many competitors struggling to avoid mistakes and several wiping out altogether on the steep 1250 metres-long slope, with a vertical drop of 400 metres, Shiffrin was conspicuous by her smooth, attacking style and easy rhythm.
German Viktoria Rebensburg, the 2010 giant slalom champion and bronze medallist in 2014, missed out on a medal as she came in fourth, 0.08 seconds behind Brignone.
"I think my head is going to explode and my heart too," Brignone said of her bronze medal. "It's pretty tough right now but I'm so happy."
- Reuters and ODT online
