NZsnowboard.com

26th January 2007

Mt Maunganui snowboarders Mitchell and Kendall Brown atoned for a disappointing world championship in qualifying for the semifinals in the Burton European Open in Switzerland today.

Mitchell Brown topped his qualifying heat while Kendall was third in her heat in pre-qualifying for the Halfpipe competition at Laax.

This qualifies the Torino Olympians for the semifinals where they will be joined by fellow Kiwis Julianne Bray and Jah Harris, who were seeded through to the semifinals based on their results in the New Zealand round of this series.

The Browns, in particular, are looking forward to improved performances after the weather-shortened snowboard world championships last week. The current warm weather conditions in Europe has played havoc with ski competitions, and limited the world championships to only one qualifying run, with the Halfpipe breaking down throughout the competition.

Only Bray advanced, finishing an impressive ninth, with both Mitchell and Kendall Brown pleased with that the conditions in Laax allowed them to show off their skills to good effect.
The semifinals are tomorrow.




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