Chemmy Alcott
File:Chemmy Alcott.jpg Chemmy Alcott competing in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy (21-Jan-09) | ||
Medal record | ||
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Representing ![]() | ||
Women's Alpine Skiing | ||
Senior British National Alpine Ski Championship Titles | ||
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2008, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2002 | Overall |
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2008, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2002 | Downhill |
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2008, 2007, 2003, 2002, 2001 | Super G |
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2007, 2005, 2003, 2002 | Combined/S. Combined |
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2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002 | Giant Slalom |
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2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003 | Slalom |
Junior British National Alpine Ski Championship Titles | ||
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2002 | Downhill |
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2002 | Super G |
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2002, 2001 | Giant Slalom |
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2002, 2001 | Slalom |
European Youth Winter Olympic Festival | ||
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1999 | Super G |
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1999 | Giant Slalom |
Chimene "Chemmy" Mary Alcott (born July 10, 1982 in Twickenham, Middlesex, Greater London) is the current British number one Alpine Skier. She is an all-round racer - competing in the Downhill, Super G, Classic Combined/Super Combined, Giant Slalom and Slalom events.
Alcott has competed in two Winter Olympic Games and six Senior FIS Alpine Ski World Championships. She is also a five-time Overall Senior British National Champion (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008).
Named after Sophia Loren’s character in the 1961 film El Cid, she started skiing aged 18 months while on a family holiday in Flaine, France, and skied in her first “fun” race at the age of three[1][2]. She grew up and went to school in Surbiton, Surrey, completing her A-levels at Surbiton High School[3][4] During her studies, she motivated herself by setting a target: If she achieved four A grades at A-level, she would concentrate on an Alpine Skiing career.[5] She achieved her target.
Early career
In 1993 at the age of eleven, Alcott won her first competitive race - the Etoile D’Or French Village Ski Championship. She soon became a member of the British Junior Alpine team in 1994 and won the 1995 Sunday Times Junior Sportswoman of the Year award[6]. Between the ages of eleven and nineteen, she flew to New Zealand every summer holiday to train in the antipodean winter[7].
Alcott made her FIS race debut in August 1997 in a Giant Slalom event at Coronet Peak, New Zealand[8]. By the end of the 1997/1998 season, she had made her debuts in both the FIS Junior World Championships (Chamonix) and the British National Championships (Tignes), where she won a Silver medal in the Giant Slalom[9].
She returned to the Australia/New Zealand Cup during the 1998 European summer, winning the overall championship. The run of promising results continued into the European winter, winning Silver (Super G) and Bronze (Giant Slalom) medals at the 1999 European Youth Olympics in Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia. In December 1999, Alcott made her World Cup debut in a Giant Slalom race in Lienz, Austria[10]. The winter of 1999 also saw her crowned World School Champion, before adding the World Artificial and Australian Overall Championships to her name in 2000.
Alcott competed in back-to-back Junior World Championships in 2000 and 2001, with a stand-out result of 8th in the 2001 Slalom event[11]. Solid results over all the disciplines placed her 5th in the 2001 overall classification. She rounded off the season by winning the 2001 British Junior title and the Senior British Super G title in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria[12][13]. The series of competitive world class results propelled Alcott well-and-truly into Senior competition for the 2001/2002 winter - the Olympic season.
2001/2002 Season and the Salt Lake City Winter Games
At 19 years of age, Alcott had already established herself as a leading competitor in her age group and was ranked top-10 in the world for her year of birth. She halved her ranking in all disciplines, the biggest improvement being in Downhill, where she jumped from 683rd to 126th over the course of the 2001/2002 season[14][15].
Her Olympic debut[16] followed in Salt Lake City, Utah. She competed in all of the Alpine disciplines, peaking with a superb 14th position in the Combined event [17].
Two weeks after her Olympic debut, Alcott competed in the Junior World Championships - improving on her 2001 classification by one position to 4th place, based on overall championship points[18]. The Olympic season also saw her compete in her final British Junior Championships - winning all the titles on offer. She also won British Senior tiles in the Giant Slalom, Super G and Downhill - claming the Overall Senior crown for the first time[19].
2002/2003 Season
In March 2003, Alcott scored her first World Cup points, finishing 27th in a Giant Slalom event in Innsbruck, Austria[20].
At the British National Championships in Tignes, France, she won the Slalom title for first time on her way to a clean sweep of all the discplines, comfortably retaining her overall title[21].
2003/2004 Season
Alcott made a strong start to the 2003/2004 World Cup season, scoring consistant top-30 results, including 11th in the Lake Louise Super G - less than 1.5 seconds behind Renate Goetschl's winning time[22].
It proved to be a break-through season for Alcott. In January 2004, she joined the World Cup elite - finishing in the top-10 for the first time with 9th in the Cortina Downhill[23]. It was the best result by a British woman for more than 30 years, after Gina Hathorn's 9th place finish in a Slalom at Heavenly Valley in March 1972[24].
She was unable to defend her British National titles, as she spent time in the San Pedro, Belize recovering from a knee ligament injury[25][26].
2004/2005 Season
Alcott's preparations for the 2004/2005 ski season were hampered by a rib injury, sustained during a free skiing accident in Switzerland[27]. The season saw her score just four top-30 results - all of them coming in the speed diciplines[28].
Heading into the 2005 World Championships (Santa Caterina, Italy), it looked likely that Alcott would be forced to miss the event. She'd been suffering from painful bunions on her feet - the result of years of pressure from her ski boots[29]. However she was determined to compete, blocking out the pain to finish a very respectable 19th in the Downhill. Alcott also took 22nd and 35th place finishes in the Super G and Giant Slalom respectively.
On her return to the British National Championships (Meribel, France) after a years absence, Alcott again took a clean-sweep of all the races contested - (Downhill/Super G/Slalom) - winning the Victrix Ludorum trophy for the Overall Championship for the third time[30].
2005/2006 Season and the Torino Winter Games
Alcott was selected as a member of the Great Britain Olympic team for the Torino Winter Olympics Games, where she competed in the Combined, Downhill, Giant Slalom and Super G events.
She pulled off the result of her career in the Downhill, speeding down a tough San Sicario course into 11th position. It remains the best Olympic performance by a British female skier since the 1968 Winter Olympic Games[31].
Alcott was disqualified from the 2006 Winter Olympics Combined event following the first run of the Slalom. Her skis were found to be 0.2mm narrower than the strict FIS regulations allowed[32]. She posted 19th and 22nd place finishes in the Super G and Giant Slalom events respectively.
Alcott's World Cup season featured seven top-30 results. Her best results came in Super G's, with a highest finish of 12th in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria[33].
In a weather disrupted British Championships (Meribel, France), Alcott won the Slalom and Giant Slalom titles. The Super G was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, as was the Senior Downhill. However it was decided to awarded Downhill title using the results of the previous day's Junior race, in which Alcott did not compete. This meant that Lynn Sharp pipped her to the Overall British title - ending Alcott's stranglehold on the Victrix Ludorum trophy[34].
Post-Torino and the 2006/2007 Season
Sadly the high of the Olympics was to be sort lived, with the sudden death of Chemmy's mother, Eve, only weeks later. Eve had been in Torino to witness her daughter's success and share the experience. Chemmy decided to take some time away from the sport to reflect on the situation[35].
Chemmy Alcott, speaking to BBC Sport: "I took three months off and it was really good closure for me. My mum and I had the same dreams - she wanted me to be the number one racer and I'm just going to have to use that and ski fast with it. I feel no-one expects much of me from this season (2006/2007) because I have been through such a hard time, but this leaves me free with no restrictions in my head."[36]
During her break from skiing, Alcott underwent surgery on her feet to remove the bunionettes that had been troubling her for years. The recovery period was to be three months, but during physiotherapy, she fell during a balance exercise and re-broke her left foot, adding a further two months to her recuperation[37].
The recovery was complete in time for the start of the 2006/2007 season. Aiming to slowly ease herself back into World Cup action, Alcott surpassed all expectations by returning in outstanding form. She notched up 13th place finishes in the first two Downhill's of the season at Lake Louise, followed by a battling 11th in the Super G at the Canadian resort[38]. This form continued into the next event in Reiteralm, Austria, where she scored her best World Cup career result to date - 7th position in the Super Combined competition[39].
A series of solid results in the speed diciplines followed, with Alcott claiming 9th position in the Tarvisio Downhill - equalling her previous best result from the Cortina Downhill of 2004. The season also saw Alcott's Giant Slalom form improve with four top-20 results, qualifying her for her first ever World Cup Finals (Lenzerheide, Switzerland), where she placed 15th[40].
The British Alpine Championships again took place in Meribel, France. Alcott won all four titles on offer - the Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom and Slalom events. The clean-sweep allowed her to regained the Overall title, after being denied by the weather in 2006. The Championships were televised on Channel 4.
2007/2008 Season
With her foot problems now behind her, a switch from Fischer to the more competitive Völkl skis, new Tecnica boots and a new Physio and Nutritionist, optimism was high amongst "Team Chemmy" heading into the 2007/2008 season[41]. However it proved to be a tough start to the season for Alcott. She was consistantly positioned around the top-30, before a return to form in St. Anton, where she finished 16th and 17th in the respective Downhill and Super Combined events. Her speed form dropped off again throughout the rest of the season, though there were encouraging signs in the Giant Slalom races, including a 16th place finish in Maribor, Slovenia[42]. The Giant Slalom was quickly becoming her favoured event, but unlike in the previous season, she failed to make the World Cup Finals.
Returning once again to Meribel for the British Champiosnhips, Alcott won the Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom and Slalom titles. She was only denied a clean-sweep of titles after being pushed into Silver medal position in the Super Combined event by 19-year-old Louise Thomas[43]. The Championships also saw Alcott take the Overall title for the fifth time.
2008/2009 Season
Alcott started the 2008/2009 World Cup season well, with a career-high 10th place finish in the opening Giant Slalom of the season in Sölden, Austria. Frustratingly, she then picked up an ankle injury during training for the very next race in Canada[44]. The injury put Chemmy on the sidelines for three months, with her eventually returning to World Cup action in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, with an impressive 15th place finish in the Giant Slalom. The following weekend in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, Chemmy finished 21st in the Super G race - a promising sign of her speed form returning in time for the 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, in which she is currently competing.
Alcott began the 2009 World Championships with a solid 21st place result in the Super G race. The following event, the Super Combined, offered a real opportunity for Alcott to post a good result, however it just wasn't to be. Chemmy was almost a minute into her Downhill run when she was yellow flagged due to a fall from the previous competitor, Frida Hansdotter. Visibly frustrated, Chemmy was helicoptered back to the top of the course for a re-run. The re-run placed her in 13th position heading into the Slalom leg, but with tired legs it was to prove to be an uphill battle. News later transpired that cash-strapped Snowsport GB had been fined CHF999, as Chemmy was deemed to have skied past the first yellow flag marshall post in the Downhill leg[45]. The flag marshall admitted he was out of the line-of sight of the racer, but the fine still stood. A tired but solid Slalom run placed Chemmy 17th in the final classification - her highest world championship result to date[46].
Broadcasting
During her injury lay-off at the start of the 2008/2009 World Cup season, Chemmy joined Matt Chilton in the British Eurosport commentary box as guest commentator for several of the womens World Cup events.
Alcott has previously appeared on Channel 4's World Cup Skiing programme, with a regular feature called Fit to Ski[47], in which she demonstrated different excercise techniques.
Further Information and Charity Work
Aged twelve, Alcott broke her neck in a skiing accident, recovering with two of her vertebrae fused together. She still carries x-rays of the injury so that if she is ever in an accident, the hospital will know not prise the vertebrae apart.
As the British ski team is sponsored by Audi, Alcott drives an Audi A3 Quattro[48]. She has also undertaken selected modelling contracts, including thermal underwear for Marks and Spencer[49], and is one of the faces of Citizen Watch United Kingdom Ltd.
She has been immortalised in song by the (now-defunct) UK indie band Three Litre in their composition "Downhill". The song featured as part of the band's "Alpine Suite" MP3 EP[50]. Sampling the famous BBC "Ski Sunday" theme tune, the song uses Alcott's "lack of success" at 2002 Winter Olympic Games in order to attack the UK government's lack of sports funding.
In June 2008, Alcott climbed Mount Kilimanjaro along with fellow ski racers Jules Mancuso and Lauren Ross, and Alcott's boyfriend Mark Weaver. The climb raised $30,000 for international humanitarian organization Right To Play[51][52].
Top-10 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Results
Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Result |
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File:FIS.png 2008/2009 | 25 October 2008 | ![]() |
Giant Slalom | 10 |
File:FIS.png 2006/2007 | 03 March 2007 | ![]() |
Downhill | 9 |
File:FIS.png 2006/2007 | 15 December 2006 | ![]() |
Super Combined | 7 |
File:FIS.png 2003/2004 | 18 January 2004 | ![]() |
Downhill | 9 |
FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Season Classifications
Season | Overall | Downhill | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Combined | ||||||
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Rank | (Pts) | Rank | (Pts) | Rank | (Pts) | Rank | (Pts) | Rank | (Pts) | Rank | (Pts) | |
File:FIS.png 2008/2009* | 64 | (52) | - | (-) | - | (-) | 26 | (42) | 43 | (10) | - | (-) |
File:FIS.png 2007/2008 | 63 | (76) | 39 | (26) | - | (-) | 28 | (25) | 42 | (9) | 28 | (16) |
File:FIS.png 2006/2007 | 32 | (249) | 27 | (84) | - | (-) | 21 | (76) | 33 | (37) | 13 | (52) |
File:FIS.png 2005/2006 | 60 | (82) | 51 | (11) | - | (-) | - | (-) | 29 | (66) | 38 | (5) |
File:FIS.png 2004/2005 | 78 | (30) | 42 | (12) | - | (-) | - | (-) | 43 | (16) | - | (-) |
File:FIS.png 2003/2004 | 51 | (139) | 27 | (68) | - | (-) | 39 | (21) | 39 | (50) | - | (-) |
File:FIS.png 2002/2003 | 115 | (4) | - | (-) | - | (-) | - | (-) | 50 | (4) | - | (-) |
*season currently in progress |
Major Championship Results
Junior World Championship Results
Event | Date | Location | Discipline | Result |
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File:FIS.png 2002 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | February/March 2002 | ![]() |
Overall (Points) | 4 |
File:FIS.png 2002 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 03 March 2002 | ![]() |
Giant Slalom | 13 |
File:FIS.png 2002 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 01 March 2002 | ![]() |
Slalom | 22 |
File:FIS.png 2002 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 28 February 2002 | ![]() |
Super G | DNF |
File:FIS.png 2002 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 29 February 2002 | ![]() |
Downhill | 12 |
File:FIS.png 2001 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | February 2001 | ![]() |
Overall (Points) | 5 |
File:FIS.png 2001 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 10 February 2001 | ![]() |
Giant Slalom | 19 |
File:FIS.png 2001 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 10 February 2001 | ![]() |
Slalom | 8 |
File:FIS.png 2001 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 07 February 2001 | ![]() |
Super G | 21 |
File:FIS.png 2001 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 06 February 2001 | ![]() |
Downhill | 18 |
File:FIS.png 2000 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 26 February 2000 | ![]() |
Slalom | DNF |
File:FIS.png 2000 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 25 February 2000 | ![]() |
Giant Slalom | 21 |
File:FIS.png 2000 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 22 February 2000 | ![]() |
Super G | 26 |
File:FIS.png 1998 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 01 March 1998 | ![]() |
Giant Slalom | 72 |
File:FIS.png 1998 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 28 February 1998 | ![]() |
Slalom | 56 |
File:FIS.png 1998 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships | 27 February 1998 | ![]() |
Super G | DNS |
External links
- Official website
- Chemmy Alcott's Official FIS Results
- Chemmy Alcott's BOA Profile
- Chemmy Alcott's SnowsportGB Profile
- A Chemmy Alcott fan bio website
- Three Litre's myspace site featuring "Downhill", a song about Chemmy Alcott
References
- ^ On the move: Chemmy Alcott - Times Online
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2004/oct/03/wintersportsholidays.wintersports.observerescapesection2
- ^ Wark, Penny (2006-02-17). "Going up, going down: Chemmy Alcott". The Face. Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
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(help) - ^ Lyles, Christopher (2001-10-25). "Skiing: Alcott has credentials to fulfil Olympic dream". Telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ http://www.olympics.org.uk/athletebio.aspx?at=242
- ^ http://www.olympics.org.uk/athletebio.aspx?at=242
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2004/oct/03/wintersportsholidays.wintersports.observerescapesection2
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=1642
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=6167
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=11126
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=14142
- ^ http://www.witanwealthbuilder.com/chemmy/results/frameset.html
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&type=result&category=ALL&season=2001&sort=&discipline=ALL&position=&place=Pitztal&Submit=Search
- ^ http://www.olympics.org.uk/athletebio.aspx?at=242
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/winterolympics2002/hi/english/features/newsid_1810000/1810383.stm
- ^ "Chemmy Alcott". Team GB. BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=16691
- ^ http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2002/0302/04che.htm
- ^ http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2002/0102/1601bri3.htm
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=18857
- ^ http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2003/0403/02chem.htm
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=24127
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=24712
- ^ http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2004/01/20chem.htm
- ^ http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2004/03/21brit.htm
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2004/oct/03/wintersportsholidays.wintersports.observerescapesection2
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/solpda/ukfs_sport/hi/newsid_3729000/3729964.stm
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&type=result&category=WC&season=2005&sort=&discipline=ALL&position=30&place=&Submit=Search
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/skiing/2353898/Foot-problem-hinders-Alcott.html
- ^ http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2005/03/26brit.htm
- ^ http://www.olympics.org.uk/athletebio.aspx?at=242
- ^ BBC SPORT Alcott disqualified for ski error
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&type=result&category=WC&season=2006&sort=&discipline=ALL&position=30&place=&Submit=Search
- ^ http://www.natives.co.uk/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=9&listcatid=70&listitemid=1265
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/skiing/2348056/Sadness-that-drives-snow-queen.html
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/winter_sports/6129760.stm
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/skiing/2348056/Sadness-that-drives-snow-queen.html
- ^ http://www.natives.co.uk/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=9&listcatid=39&listitemid=2436
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=47858
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=47963
- ^ http://www.britski.org/piste0710.pdf
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=52872
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&type=result&category=NC&season=2008&sort=&discipline=ALL&position=&place=Meribel&Submit=Search
- ^ BBC SPORT Alcott sidelined by broken ankle
- ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gRSIkStpRq5AUzBkDmjzfRvItbeg
- ^ http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=655&raceid=54009
- ^ http://www.channel4.com/sport/microsites/S/skiing/fit_to_ski.html CHANNEL 4 - World Cup Skiing - Fit to Ski
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article624069.ece
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mamps-adds-view-from-sportwear-to-its-line-up-644564.html
- ^ Three Litre's myspace site
- ^ http://www.nbcolympics.com/newscenter/vancouver2010/newsid=257531.html
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ7IEt6O-Fg