Young skiing talent Mathilde Phillips won bronze on the final day of the Delancey British Alpine Skiing Championships in Tignes, her first podium of the week.
The 12-year-old from Wimbledon finished third in the under-14 category of the Giant Slalom race on Friday with a combined time of 1:44.48 over two runs, only 12 hundredths of a second off silver.
With a hectic final day of the Championships, which saw eight events take place following the cancellation of races the day before due to heavy snow, Phillips claimed the lack of time to think about her run actually helped her.
She said: “I think the first run was good then the second run I arrived at the top then needed to go two minutes after so I was really stressed out but I think it worked out because I had a better second run.
“The Super G went okay, I was a bit scared because I went really fast! For the Slalom it went really good and the Giant Slalom was even better.
“I like going fast but not too fast, I get a bit scared! I just love skiing though.
“Next year I’ll be one of the oldest in the age category so I’m aiming for even higher podium positions but it feels good to win bronze here today.”
Now living in Switzerland, Phillips said it was great to race against the best the nation has to offer in order to compare her skiing.
Having skied all her life, the racer has her sights set on reaching the top, but understands it will be no easy feat.
“I train in Switzerland in the valleys and I’ve been racing since seven years old,” said the youngster, who also finished fourth in the Slalom race earlier in the week, missing out on bronze by just three tenths of a second.
“I went up the age categories and followed the path to here. I do races in the whole valley and they’ve been good this season.
“It’s different here because it’s British skiers, it’s not the same people or organisations or pistes. It means a lot to be here and see them, I don’t manage to see them a lot.
“Of course my long term aims would be Olympics and getting in the national team.
“It’ll be hard but I’m dedicated.”
To follow the progress of the Delancey British Alpine Ski Team visit www.teambss.org.uk or follow @teambss on Twitter.
As principal sponsor of British Ski and Snowboard, specialist real estate investment and advisory company Delancey is proud to be able to provide British athletes with the support they require to win World Cup and Winter Olympic medals. For more information visit www.delancey
Image copyright: Racer Ready
