Rabe tests mettle vs. strong field in Gangwon

“I feel lonely because I’m the only one in my events,” said the 14-year-old Rabe, who’s been practicing at the Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort, where the temperature dropped to -15 Celsius Tuesday.

“But I’m proud and ready for tomorrow [Wednesday],” she stressed.

Rabe sustained a minor bruise in her jaw when she crashed in training Sunday but said she’s ready for the women’s slopestyle that starts at 9:45 a.m. here, featuring 20 other strong contenders with athletes from Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, Ukraine and the US as favorites.

There were others who sustained injuries on Monday—one had a concussion on the head and another broke his knee and are out of the Olympics.

“All those happened on the same day [Monday],” said Ric Rabe, Rabe’s dad and coach. “Tomorrow is competition day and she’s feeling alone. But she’s in good spirit. She’s framing her mind to focus and finalize our plan today.”

Slopestyle freeski is skiing down over a series of railsand jumps.

Rabe’s other event set on Sunday features athletes launching themselves for a big jump and performing while airborne with spins, grabs and flips.

“I was able to do a lot of tricks and spins with my new skis,” she said. “I was able to ski at the snow park for few hours, checked out my speed and the rails if it’s sticky. It’s just small details, but very important.”

“She is one of the last qualifiers,” Ric Rabe said. “Realistic objectives are to gain experience from this international event and try to be the best among her FIS [International Ski Federation] counterparts while enjoying the moment here.” — AFP