Ben Sim (born July 30, 1985 in Cooma , New South Wales ) is a retired Australian cross-country skier . He is the first Australian cross-country skier to win World Cup points in a distance competition . At the age of 20 he won the Kangaroo Hoppet for the first time . This makes him the only cross-country skier in the world who was able to win an international ski marathon as a junior.
life and career
An avid runner as a child, Sim started cross-country skiing at the age of 10. In August 2001 he started for the first time in the Continental Cup in Perisher Valley , where he was able to take third place over 15 kilometers of freestyle. At the Junior World Championship in Schonach in 2002 , he was 71st out of 89 starters over the distance of 10 kilometers in free technique. In the sprint competition, he finished 51st. Sim celebrated his first victory in the Continental Cup in the summer of 2002 in Perisher Valley at the Australian championships over 10 kilometers freestyle. At the end of the competition series, he finished third overall. And also at the Junior World Championships in 2003 in Sollefteå , he showed a great improvement and finished 24th in the mass start competition over 30 kilometers freestyle. Over 10 kilometers in the classic way he reached 49th place and 46th place in the sprint competition. With several victories and podium placements in the Continental Cup, Sim qualified for his first World Cup start in the 2003/04 season . In Nove Mesto , however, he reached the classic finish over the distance of 15 kilometers with over 10 minutes behind the winner Andrus Veerpalu as only 71st and last. At the Junior World Championships in 2004 in Stryn he achieved the best placement of 35th place over 10 kilometers freestyle. In 2005 he also convinced in the newly created Australia / New Zealand Cup (Continental Cup) and took 2nd place in the overall ranking of this series of competitions. Among other things, he won the Kangaroo Hoppet , an international ski marathon, for the first time . This was the world's first victory for a junior in an international ski marathon. In the World Cup, however, he could still only occupy the last places. Nevertheless, he was nominated for the Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 in Oberstdorf . Over 15 kilometers of freestyle he achieved 80th place out of 121 starters behind his compatriot Ben Derrick . While he did not finish the pursuit competition, it was enough for 54th place in the sprint competition. In the team sprint, Sim started with Paul Murray . The duo took 18th place among 24 nations. At the Junior World Championships in 2005 in Rovaniemi , he missed by two hundredths the qualification for the finals and took 32nd place. In the pursuit competition he was 35.
In the summer of 2006, Sim secured two wins in the Australia / New Zealand Cup for the first time. In the World Cup competitions of the 2005/06 season and also at the U23 World Championship, however, he could not convince again and only took places in the back field. He was also not nominated for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin . After Sim was able to record the overall victory in the Australia / New Zealand Cup again in summer 2007, he started at the Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo , where he finished 14th in the team sprint with Paul Murray. His best individual result was 49th place in the sprint competition. In the U23 World Championship, it was enough over 15 kilometers freestyle to 37th place and in the pursuit competition to 52nd place. He was able to significantly improve these placings a year later in Mals and achieved 25th place over 30 kilometers of freestyle (mass start) and 19th place over 15 kilometers in classic style. In summer 2008 he achieved his third overall victory in the Australia / New Zealand Cup. At the World Cup in Vancouver , Ben Sim secured his best place in the World Cup to date with 33rd place, but only 34 athletes competed. He started the Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec in 2009 with a 51st place over 15 kilometers classic. He finished the pursuit competition over 30 kilometers as 42nd in the team sprint with Mark van der Ploeg he reached 19th place and with the Australian relay the 13th place. The 2009/10 season began for Sim with second place in the overall standings of the Australia / New Zealand Cup and his fourth win at Kangaroo Hoppet. In November Sim competed in several FIS races in Beitostølen , in which a large part of the world's elite took part. Sim was greatly improved and reached 36th place over 15 kilometers of freestyle. He was also able to convince in 42nd place in the classic race over 10 kilometers. At the opening competition for the 2009/10 cross-country skiing world cup , Sim managed an unexpected surprise. Over 15 kilometers of freestyle he achieved 30th place. After Paul Murray , Sim is the second Australian cross-country skier to achieve World Cup points and the first to do so in a distance competition. His best placings at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver were 45th place over 15 km freestyle and 20th place in team sprint. His best results at the Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo were 59th place over 15 km classic and 16th place with the relay. He ended his career after the 2011/12 season of the Australia / New Zealand Cup, which he finished with 2nd place overall.
Australia
