JACK GOWER, THE sole Team Ireland athlete in action today, finished 12th overall in the Alpine Combined event at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
Competing in his first Olympics, Gower started the day strong with fourteenth in the Downhill, before going two places better in the Slalom, finishing with an overall time of 2:37.74 and Ireland’s best Alpine Skiing result ever; a Winter Olympic result only bettered by Lord Clifton Wrottesley who finished fourth in the Skeleton in 2002.
The Alpine Combined is an event where athletes compete in the Downhill speed event with the more technical Slalom, the overall winner is the fastest racer once the race times are combined.
Normally a Downhill specialist, Gower put down a clean run in the challenging and technical Slalom course, finishing twelfth fastest in that run with a time of 52:58, placing him firmly inside his top fifteen goal when it was combined with the earlier Downhill time of 1:45.16, resulting in an overall twelfth fastest time of 2:37.74.
“12th at the Olympics, I mean that’s crazy. There are 30,000 competitors in Alpine Skiing, to get 12th is… what can I say, it’s great,” said a delighted Gower post-event.
“As an athlete you always want a little more. The downhill I had some really good sections and some slower sections, and the slalom was a real battle, so I would love to have done better. But at the same time, 12th in the Olympics in such a competitive sport is huge, and I feel so grateful that I have had such huge support.”
Tomorrow Tess Arbez will compete in her last race of Beijing 2022, with the Super-G. This is the first time that she will compete in this speed race in the Olympic Games. In Zhangjiakou, Thomas Maloney Westgaard competes in his preferred event, the Cross-Country 15km Classic.
