Ben Griffin (ski racer)

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Ben Griffin Alpine skiing
Ben Griffin in March 2008
nation New ZealandNew Zealand New Zealand
birthday 22nd September 1986 (age 33)
place of birth Wellington , New Zealand
size 181 cm
Weight 84 kg
Career
discipline Slalom , giant slalom ,
super-G , downhill ,
combination
status active
Placements in the Alpine Ski World Cup
 Individual World Cup debut March 8, 2008
last change: March 21, 2011

Benjamin "Ben" Griffin (born September 22, 1986 in Wellington ) is a New Zealand ski racer . He starts in all disciplines and has so far participated in two world championships and once in the Olympic Winter Games. He achieved his greatest successes so far in the Australia New Zealand Cup with ten top 5 results and at the New Zealand Championships, where he won five titles.

biography

Ben Griffin was born in Wellington , New Zealand's capital , and moved with his family to Whakapapa Village in 1990 , where his father took over the management of Chateau Tongariro . Griffin, who also practiced several other sports as a child, started skiing regularly in the Whakapapa Ski Field on Ruapehu . Griffin has been competing in FIS races and the Australia New Zealand Cup since August 2001 . In the following years he found connection to the national top and won his first FIS race in February 2006, a downhill in Apex , British Columbia . In the same year he reached fourth place overall in the Australia New Zealand Cup. Griffin was then nominated for the 2007 World Cup in Åre , Sweden . He started in all competitions except in the downhill, but only finished 57th in the Super-G. In September 2007 he was New Zealand champion in giant slalom and super-G. After further good results in winter 2007/08, including a sixth place in the Nor-Am slalom of Sunday River in the second run , Griffin made his first appearance in the World Cup on March 8, 2008 in the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora , but where he failed to qualify for the second round. Four days later he celebrated his second victory in an FIS race in the Super-G at Spital am Semmering .

On May 28, 2008, Griffin was seriously injured while jumping on the trampoline during a training session with the New Zealand ski team and broke his seventh cervical vertebra . After several months of rehabilitation and almost a year off from racing, he has been taking part in competitions again since March 2009. In the summer of 2009 he scored two victories in FIS races in New Zealand and his first podium in the Australia New Zealand Cup. In addition, like two years ago, he was New Zealand champion in giant slalom and super-G. Since November 2009 Griffin has started sporadically in the European Cup , but has never been in the top 50 in any race. In January 2010 he started again in two giant slaloms in Kranjska Gora in the World Cup, but retired in both. After being unable to take part in the 2009 World Championships due to injury, Griffin was one of two New Zealand ski racers at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February 2010, alongside Tim Cafe . He started in the giant slalom and in the Super-G, but failed in both competitions. In June 2010, Griffin was named Alpine Ski Racer of the Year by the New Zealand Snow Sports Association for the third time in a row . In the summer of 2010, Griffin reached third place overall in the Australia New Zealand Cup with third place in the Super-G at Mount Hutt and two more top 5 results, tied with Norwegian Iver Bjerkestrand . At the end of August 2010 he was New Zealand champion in giant slalom for the third time.

In the 2010/11 season Griffin again took part in three World Cup races, but he was eliminated in both the Super-G and the giant slalom of Hinterstoder and the giant slalom of Kranjska Gora. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen , he was 32nd in the Super-G, while he did not see the goal in the slalom and giant slalom.

successes

World championships

Australia New Zealand Cup

  • 2 podium places

New Zealand Championships

  • New Zealand champion in giant slalom (2007, 2009, 2010) and Super-G (2007, 2009)

More Achievements

  • 4 victories in FIS races

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Griffin chosen to head men's ski team. The Press , August 6, 2009, accessed July 16, 2010
  2. ↑ Spinal damage doesn't stop top slalom skier. The Southland Times , August 24, 2009, accessed July 16, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Griffin, Ben
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Griffin, Benjamin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand ski racer
DATE OF BIRTH September 22, 1986
PLACE OF BIRTH Wellington , New Zealand