Bradley Stephenson, the Rhodes University Sportsman of the Year for 2009, recently returned from Europe where he took part in various events.
Bradley Stephenson, the Rhodes University Sportsman of the Year for 2009, recently returned from Europe where he took part in various events.
He was due to compete in four races, two Europa Cup events and one World Cup race in Suomu in Finland, and one World Cup race in Meribel, France. While in Finland, the international ski federation announced that there had been too little snow in France to prepare the race course to their specifications, so the 11 December race was moved to Finland.
This turned out to be only a day before the Finnish event so most of the athletes and judges were in Finland already. Stephenson went on to compete in the four events, and spent the last week of his trip in Switzerland and France where he was able to do some training, despite the snow being scant on the ground.
Stephenson went on to finish 50th out of 60 in the first Europa Cup, then took a fall during the second Europa Cup race so he was unfortunately unable to finish. “Competing in the World Cup was an amazing experience,” said Stephenson, adding that it was the launch of the 2010 Freestyle World Cup season, so there was an impressive opening ceremony with fireworks, a hot air balloon, snowmobile jumping, fire dancing, Father Christmas arriving with a sleigh drawn by huskies and a formal welcome of each represented country.
There were 107 athletes from 22 nations competing, with the South African flag lifted high when it came to the announcement of RSA. The events were televised live to all European and North American countries where there is huge interest in winter sports, especially in the buildup to the Olympics.
Because Olympic qualification was high on everyone’s agenda, there were more athletes competing than usual. All the major champions took part, including the current World Champion, Patrick Daneen from the USA – who ended up in 22nd and 25th place.
Stephenson said his major goal was to complete the first race, as then he would be able to claim back his travel expenses if he was disqualified or did not complete the race. He finished 54th out of 60 competitors in both world cup races, scoring well on his jumps and turns but still needing to work on his speed. The athletes working with him says this will come with time and experience.
At the age of 21, Stephenson was one of the youngest competitors, with most participants competing for more than 10 years. One of the highlights was to beat the Great Britain freestyle champion, Andy Longley, as well as one of the best Australians, Sam Hall.
Stephenson looks set to have a great future in the sport, although there is one obstacle, bigger than any jump or turn he has ever faced. As in many sports in South Africa, skiing is not a very well known sport and so he needs to find his own funding for all his trips and competitions.
While Stephenson’s main goal over the past months has been to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics, he has not yet obtained enough points to qualify. He therefore hopes to take part in the Spain World Cup event in March this year, where he is planning to achieve the necessary qualifying points.
While his dream of competing in this year’s Olympics is becoming more out of his reach, the international ski federation is keen for him to continue competing and to participate in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
As for his studies, he will continue at Rhodes and fit in competitions as he can. He is studying a BA – geography, economics and psychology.
He wrote two subjects in November 2009 as he was away for the entire third term competing, and so will finish his first year subjects as well as continue with some second year subjects.
The talented sportsman is likely to represent South Africa at the next World Ski Championships (held every two years), to be held in Utah, USA, in February 2011.
