INJURY PUTS BRIDGWATER OUT OF OLYMPIC CONTENTION

January 12 2006: Olympic hopeful 20-year-old Mark Bridgwater (Christchurch) has returned to New Zealand after suffering a knee injury which has ended his 2006 Winter Olympics campaign.

Bridgwater ruptured his ACL while racing at Hunter Mountain (USA) in a Nor Am giant slalom.

"I was at the second to last gate when I made a mistake and tried to recover but I was too far gone. I heard it (my knee) pop and I slid through the finish."

He says ironically he had a good and fast run and was well set up for the second run. But he had to be stretchered off the course, and after an MRI scan his worst fears were confirmed, and he has returned to New Zealand for surgery. It is expected to be six months before he is ready to ski again.

"I am obviously extremely disappointed not to be going to the Olympics next month. I have met the discretionary qualification in downhill and Super G after getting good results in Nor Am events in Canada. Then I won a FIS Super G in Winter Park in Colorado. But I was also doing well in the technical events and it would have been a bonus to get to the Olympics in giant slalom and slalom as well as the speed events."

Bridgwater's world ranking in downhill is 326 and Super G 346. At the time of his injury he was ranked 535 in GS and 579 in slalom. The discretionary qualifications, for Olympic selection consideration for speed events is top 350 in the world , and for technical events top 450.

Bridgwater says the recent training in the Norther Hemisphere with national men's team coach Nils Coberger has been "awesome."

"We all worked so well together. It is a great new structure."

He hopes to be back on snow at the start of the 2006 New Zealand season.

"I will be working very hard on my rehab but it will obviously take a while to get back to where I was before my injury. But I am determined to keep going and work towards the 2010 Olympics."

In the meantime he will also be working on launching a clothing company which will feature streetwear designs for skiers and snowboarders.