Happy Birthday Völkl! Since 1923 Völkl has stood for unlimited passion for skiing and making high performance products. Based in Straubing, Völkl is the largest - and one of the last remaining - manufacturer in Germany. Here, high-tech innovation meets traditional craftsmanship to create the most precise, highest quality, and technologically advanced skis in the world. 2023 has also been another stellar year for Völkl’s kiwi team of established free riders.
The Harrington brothers from the Maungawera Valley near Wanaka recently earned a career best double as the top performing kiwi skiers at the World Championships in Georgia, 2022, with Ben (21) and Luca (19) placing fifth respectively in the halfpipe and big air. Luca is still recovering from a big finish to the Northern winter: “World Champs was a hard yet amazing time. We flew to the country of Georgia and had 2 weeks of high winds and bad weather. I was super proud of my slopestyle performance, but unfortunately it wasn't enough for finals. Next was big air where I ended up qualifying for finals in 2nd for my heat and then proceeded to land both my tricks and end up 5th place overall! I never would have thought that I would be in the top 5 in the world at the world championships.” Freeride World Tour 2023 wildcard entry and dual Olympian Finn Bilous, 23, is another high octane Völkl ambassador with a big season ahead of him. In 2016 Finn won two medals at the Junior Olympics, and in 2019 placed 5th in the World championships. Following the Beijing Olympics, he transitioned to Big Mountain placing 4th at Kicking Horse in Canada as a rookie.
He has just been selected to represent the Oceania team to compete in the Obsidian, a multi disciplinary international event with park and big mountain elements Bilous and team Harrington will be joined by Finlay Melville-Ives at the Winter Games. The 17 year-old halfpipe skier placed 6th in his debut World Cup in 2022 and while the halfpipe has been cancelled due to snow conditions, he will compete in Big Air and Slopestyle at the event. Our next newsletter will feature the new wave of dynamic young athletes riding Völkl to the podium. Dylan Hedley-Dunbar, Daisy Woods and Cooper Arkell are already standing out in their respective age groups with Daisy,13, recently selected to represent New Zealand in the World Junior Pipe and Park championships later this month. Image supplied: Luca Harrington on Völkl Revolt
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