Name: Katya Crema
Nickname: Kat
Age: 22
Sport: Ski Cross Freestyle Skiing
Home resort: Mt. Buller, Victoria
Date of Birth: 2nd August 1988
Club: Olympic Winter Institute (OWI)
Sporting Institutes: VIS, NSWIS, AIS
Sponsors: Rip Curl, Nordica, Komperdell, 2XU, XTM
Place of Birth: Melbourne, Australia
Residence: Middle Park, Melbourne, VIC
Height: 174cm
Weight: 62kg
Coach: Matthew Lyons
Heritage: Italian, Swiss
Favourite Mountains: Aspen, Whistler / Blackcomb, Montgenevre, Buller
Best thing about skiing: traveling, powder, lifestyle, being outdoors and not in an office
Worst: living out of a suitcase, freezing temperatures, injury
Education: currently studying Architecture at Melbourne University, 3rd year
Major Competitions:
2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games;
2009 Freestyle World Championships, Inawashiro Japan;
2009 World Junior Alpine Championships, Fomigal Spain;
2007 World Junior Alpine Championships, Flachau Austria
Major Awards:
University of Melbourne 'High Performance' scholarship, 2010
University of Melbourne Dux - Architecture first year 2008
Junior Alpine Athlete of the Year, 2004/05 and 2006/07
2006 Dux - Wesley College (year 12)
Katya Crema began skiing at the age of 3 years old at Mt. Buller, Victoria. She went from ski school to Team XTreme and soon on to Race Club, where skiing quickly developed into a passion.
In her first year race club at 11 years of age, Katya became the under 12 Victorian Champion. In her final two years of children's racing, Katya became the under 14 Australian Champion. She was selected to be apart of the National Children's Alpine Team, and competed twice at the World Children's Championships (Topolino) in Italy (2002 and 2003).
In her first year on the open FIS racing circuit, Katya was selected for the Victorian Alpine Team. The consecutive year, she progressed onto the Australian Junior Development Team. By her third year FIS (2005), Katya took out the Australian National Championships title. She won this title again for the next consecutive 2 years, and then again in 2009, following injury in 2008.
During this time, Katya was also presented with the prestigious award of 'Alpine Junior Athlete of the Year' in 2004/05 and 2006/07.
In 2007, Katya was selected as a member of the Australian National Ski Team. She was chosen to represent Australia at the World Junior Championships in Flachau, Austria, where she finished 46th in the slalom. She competed again in the world event in 2008 in Formigal, Spain, her final year as a junior.
This same year, Katya's ski cross career kicked off with her World Cup debut in Les Contamines, France, where she finished 18th. She continued to compete in alpine, however there was no denying her results on the ski cross circuit proved to be world class. Her season best of 11th place in the World Cup in Sierra Nevada, Spain, put her into 18th place on the overall world cup standings. Unfortunately, her season came to an end when she blew her ACL in a bad crash in the final world cup of the season in Meiringen, Switzerland.
Following a full knee reconstruction and a further 2 knee operations, Katya is back on track. She competed at the World Freestyle Championships in February 2009 in Inawashiro, Japan, where she finished 26th.
After a great 2009/10 season, including a 10th place at Lake Placid World Cup, Katya qualyfied for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, being apart of the first ever group to compete in Ski Cross at an Olympic Games. She finished in 15th place, a great result for the first-time Olympian.
Katya is now looking towards the Freestyle World Championships in Deer Valley, 2011, and the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games in 4 years time, where she hopes to bring home a medal.
Visit my blog
Picture taken by Tony Harrington - harroart.com
World Champs, Japan 2009
"2009 Snowmen", Japan
Taken by Ivan Pacak
AOC's "Meet Katya Crema"
Australian 2010 Olympic Shadow Team Member
May 2009
3...2...1...bungy! Europe's highest bungy jump, Innsbruck, 192m
October 2010
Video Blog Part1
Northern Winter Season 10/11
December 2010
