Alpine championships give Cooper’s Olympic dream a boost

More than 100 skiers took to the sun-kissed slopes of Tignes on Monday for the Super-G event, which had been postponed over the weekend because of poor weather conditions.

In the National Junior Championship run, 16-year-old Cooper topped the British under-18 Super-G category, beating off Isobel Kirk and Kirsty Guest by more than half a second.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” she said. “I’ve had very little Super-G training this year so it’s a great surprise and really nice to win. In my first run I probably played it too safe, but in the second one I really just let my skis go and things clicked a bit more.

“It’s my dream to go on and become an Olympic athlete, and that spurs me on to keep going and keep performing better in my races. Results like this one really give you a lot of confidence.”

Following the success of the Great Britain team at Sochi 2014 and with the support of Snowsport England’s national participation campaign GO SKI GO BOARD, it has been a tremendous year for British winter sports.

Cooper has been in skis for as long as she can remember and the Chichester High School pupil says the British Championships are one of the highlights of her season.

“It’s been amazing – the event has been organised well and they’ve looked after the course,” she added. “I think the championships are going to go really well and I’m excited about it. I’ve been to Tignes before for training and I like it a lot here.”

* As principal sponsor of British Ski and Snowboard, Delancey is proud to be able to provide British athletes with the support and training they require to continue to be a real force in winter sports on a world stage. Follow @teambss or visit www.teambss.org.uk and www.delancey.com