Christchurch speed skater Ethan De Rose has exceeded his own expectations to place 7th at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games.
Competing in the 1000m event at the Lausanne Sating Arena, De Rose started strong, flying across the ice to win his heat.
“I was feeling pretty good right from when I woke up and then I warmed up a bit, got involved and it all went to plan,” said De Rose.
The 17-year-old continued his strong vein of form to advance all the way to the B-final, finishing with an overall placing of seventh in a 32 strong field.
“I wasn’t expecting to do that well in all honesty, I would’ve been happy with top 16 so I’m absolutely stoked with how today went.
“I did some really good passes which I was really happy with and the atmosphere was sick.”
De Rose will compete in the 500m event next week.
At the satellite village in St Moritz Dunedin athlete Hunter Burke was in action in the luge where he placed 18th.
Burke recorded a combined time of 1:52.03s across two runs, reaching a top speed of 121kph.
Following the race Hunter said "I had some nerves before the first run and didn't get a very good start. After making some adjustments and realising it was my last shot, in the second run I posted my best time of the whole week.”
“It’s been pretty special being here and I feel like I've made big improvements this season and can’t wait for next season."
Burke will compete again in the luge mixed team relay on January 20th.
At the slopestyle course in Leysin Ruby Andrews from Queenstown sustained an injury in training and was unable to compete.
Andrews will undergo further medical assessments before deciding whether to compete in big air and halfpipe next week.
Winter Youth Olympic Games coverage is available on Sky Sport.
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