SPORT Sam slays in the slalom
It has been a winter to remember for skier Sam Hadley. Probably the best yet for the Year 11 Flower’s House boarder, who has not only led the College ski team to success, but has also enjoyed individual triumphs in both New Zealand and Australian national ski championships.
physical strength in order to be supple enough to change direction quickly.” To reach the required levels of fitness and strength, his typical pre-season weekly training includes four gym sessions, two runs, a three-hour bike ride, and a three- hour walk on the Port Hills. For College, he and teammates Luc Botherway, Ned Botherway and Tom Picton-Warlow won the South Island secondary schools’ giant slalom, and the other College
Queenstown is home for the 15-year-old, who started ski racing with the Queenstown Alpine Ski Team when he was six. In recent years he has skied with the Cardrona Alpine Ski Team. Sam placed 3rd in the giant slalom at the 2019 New Zealand Alpine National Senior Championships, making him third best in the country for all age groups. He capped that by dominating the National Junior Championships with two slalom wins at Coronet Peak, and being confirmed as the New Zealand U21
champion. He then went to Perisher in the Snowy Mountains to try his luck at the Australian National Alpine Championships, placing 4th out of a field of about 30 men in the giant slalom, and 5th in the junior giant slalom. “I was coming second, but made some mistakes which made me lose time, so I got bumped back to fifth.”
Slalom is his favourite ski discipline.
“It’s more physical and a lot faster pace, and requires a lot more
Sam Hadley (right) taking 3rd place in the giant slalom
College Issue 37 2019
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