Today Team GB’s women curlers remained undefeated at the EYOWF competition and guaranteed themselves at least a bronze medal after defeating hosts Poland 5-1. Not to be out done, the men’s team also convincingly defeated the hosts 12-1 and later in the day beat Denmark 6-4 to guarantee that they too would be heading home with a medal.
At the Cieszyn Ice Rink, Katie Powell (West Kirby), completed a fantastic performance in the Free Programme to finish 12th with a personal best score of 96.07. Powell skating to music from the Transformers delivered a strong routine in front of a large appreciative crowd.
Commenting on her performance she said:
“I really enjoyed it and had fun out there. It was great to have so much support in the crowd. I felt quite a lot of pressure as this is such a big event for me, but I think I coped really well and it was a great experience”.
Her coach Dawn Peckett added:
“Today has been a really positive experience for Katie because despite having a couple of errors in her programme, she then continued to do clean, well performed elements which was excellent. She was under a lot more pressure here to perform at her best and today she showed an improved mental toughness”.
Team GB Ice Dancers Sophie (Gillingham) and Richard Sharpe (South Woodham) were also in action in the Original Dance. Skating to a Charleston theme they again put in a personal best performance to maintain their 8th position going in to the final Free Dance tomorrow.
In today’s boardercross final Dean Horsfield (Accrington) got off to a good start but was unlucky in the middle part of the course where the relentless heavy snow conditions caught him out. Unperturbed by his fall, Horsfield rallied to put in a strong finish which was recognised by the spectators at the finish gate and also got him a mention on Eurosport who were covering the event live.
Commenting on the team’s performance, coach Sonia Shaw said:
“Considering the lack of boardercross training the team has undertaken, we have gained some promising results this week which we can build upon heading in to the British Championships next month.
“To have a British athlete recognised in the top 32 boardercross riders at this event hasn’t been achieved since Zoe Gillings competed at the EYOWF in 2001 and it was unfortunate that Jamie Barrow was unable to compete this week due to injury, as he too would have put in a good performance.
“Ro Kealey’s results bode well for the future and she will definitely be one to watch out for at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi”.
Tough conditions on the cross country course today challenged Team GB’s skiers. Callum Smith (Inverurie) finished 53rd in the men’s 10km Freestyle with team-mate William Newman (Huntly) 66th and in the women’s 7.5km Freestyle race Deborah May (Huntly) finished 56th and Lauren Spencer (Gloucester) 60th.
Tomorrow sees Team GB in action in the following sports:
Cross Country
Deborah May and Lauren Spencer will compete in the women’s 1000m Sprint and William Newman, Callum Smith and Andrew Young will go in the men’s 1000m Sprint.
Curling
Competition continues for the women’s team who face Denmark and will be hoping to book a spot in Friday’s final .
Figure Skating
Ice Dancers Sophie Jones and Richard Sharpe will complete their competition with the Free Dance.
Skiing
Charlie Guest, Alex Tilley and Emily Whitelock will compete in the women’s Giant Slalom.
