2012 Australian Winter Youth Olympic Daredevil

2012 Australian Winter Youth Olympic Daredevil

A chance meeting between two women at a pilates class has paved the way for one of Australia's newest winter athletes aiming for a spot at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck.

This unlikely beginning to a sporting career is the perfect start to the story of Townsville local Alex Ferlazzo training in the tropics for the improbable sport of luge.

When Ferlazzo's mother met former World Cup slider and current Luge Development Manager Karen Flynn, she suggested that her teenage son could be a good fit for the daring winter sport.

'At a recruitment camp at the NSW Academy of Sport in Sydney, Alex showed a natural talent for the sport," Flynn said.
'He's tall, has upper body strength and long arms which are all helpful in luge. After being introduced to the technique of sliding on a wheeled sled, Alex showed he really had ability."

At the camp Ferlazzo got his first taste for the sport and underwent position and steering technique work, trained on ice at an ice rink and completed fitness assessments. Dual Olympian and Sochi hopeful Hannah Campbell-Pegg was there to take the recruits through their paces.

'The camp was great," Ferlazzo said. 'It was awesome having Hannah there. She showed me all the basics, helped with fitness training and was a really good mentor."

With the basics under his belt, it was time for Ferlazzo to hit the ice with training camps held at the natural luge track in Naseby, New Zealand and then on a man-made Olympic standard track in Lake Placid, USA.

'It was very scary at first," Ferlazzo said of his first time down the Lake Placid track. 'Terrifying in fact! Once you get used to it though, it was totally fine and now I love it."

With Townsville a long way from sliding tracks or indeed winter of any sort, Ferlazzo works on his technique and understanding of how to turn his sled using a wheeled sled on Mt Stuart.

'Someone is up the top and someone is down the bottom and they watch out for cars for me," he said.
'It's not as fast as the ice and it only takes me about 10 seconds to come down but it's good practice."

To realise his dream of qualifying for the Youth Winter Olympics, the young street luger will now embark on the Junior World Cup circuit. As Australia's first ever Junior World Cup representative, Ferlazzo will compete in the USA, Canada and Austria where he will attempt to garner enough points to gain selection for the Games.

'I can't wait to race over at the World Cups. It will be a really big step up for me but it's exciting. I hope to get to Innsbruck and then after that Sochi so it's all good stepping stones."

2012 Australian Winter Youth Olympic Team

Games Snapshot
1st Winter Youth Olympic Games

IOC initiative to engage with Youth
13 – 22 January 2012
10 days of competition
1000+ athletes (14-18 years)
70+ National Olympic Committees
7 Sports & 15 Disciplines - 63 medal events
Sport and Media experience to educate athletes and prepare them for elite senior sport and hopefully 2014 and 2018 Olympics

2012 Australian Winter Olympic Team
Projected Team size - 15 athletes
Dual Olympic medallist Alisa Camplin will lead the Team as Chef de Mission
2010 Olympian Ramone Cooper is appointed Young Ambassador / Team Mentor
AUS athletes likely to compete in 11 disciplines - Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Freestyle Ski Halfpipe & Ski Cross, Ice Hockey*, Luge, Short Track, Snowboard Halfpipe & Slopestyle

Innsbruck Facts
Location: Capital of Tyrol in west Austria
Host City: 1964 and 1976 Olympic Winter Games
Climate: January average temperature: -7° to 1°C
January average rainfall: 53mm
Population: 120,000
Language: German
Elevation: 574m/1,883ft

Australia Winter Olympic Success
The 2012 Australian Youth Olympic Team is hoping to continue Australia's recent success at the Olympic Games and World Championships.
Australia has medalled at the past 5 Winter Olympic Games –
1994 Lillehammer (Bronze Short track relay)
1998 Nagano (Bronze Zali Stegall – Alpine)
2002 Salt Lake (Gold Steven Bradbury - Short Track, Gold Alisa Camplin – Aerials)
2006 Torino (Gold Dale Begg-Smith – Moguls, Bronze Camplin – Aerials)
2010 Vancouver (Gold Torah Bright – Halfpipe, Gold Lydia Lassila – Aerials, Silver Begg-Smith – Moguls)
Current World Champions - Alex Pullin, Holly Crawford, Nate Johnstone and Anna Segal
Further Games information is also available at www.innsbruck2012.com