Feneley 'excited' for future after first Games

Freestyle Skiing 05 Feb 22

Having made his bow on the biggest stage of all, freestyle skier Will Fenely now knows what it takes to be on top - and he can't wait to get there.

The 22-year-old from Norfolk finished 27th overall in the men's moguls, missing out on a spot in Saturday's final after the two qualifying heats.

But there were plenty of positives for Feneley to take after giving a solid account of himself in a packed field of talent.

And after getting a taste of the Olympic experience, he is certainly hungry for more.

"I can't really believe how amazing this sort of experience is and it's going to take a little while to take it all in," he said.

"Moguls is one of those sports where the 30 guys here are all absolutely deserving of being here; it's an incredible sport with some incredible athletes.

"Everyone has been nailing their runs all year really, it has been such a challenge to keep up with that but also such a motivation.

"I think these guys they are amazing and something that I look up to and hopefully I'll be at the top of moguls one day and be that guy that everyone else is looking up to."

Feneley was satisfied with his Olympic debut after putting down two solid runs across the first few days, finishing 23rd and then 17th with the top ten from both progressing to the final.

"I had two good performances on the big stage and dealing with that pressure is a long learning curve and I'm excited for what I can do in the future."

And the bumps and jumps specialist is already looking forward to a potential shot at Milano Cortina 2026 having learnt plenty from his first appearance.

He added: "I think resilience is one of the key words from this Games. There's so many different factors that you could be thinking about but the most important thing is: how can I improve my performance?

"I've never been to a Games before but you've got all the Covid requirements, making sure you are staying healthy, but then also the expectation of it being the Games.

"To balance those two things for the first time has been a challenge, but something I'm greatly appreciative of being able to go through and hopefully it will hold me in great stead as we go into the next seasons and hopefully into the next Games."

The women's competition continues on Sunday with sisters Makayla, who finished 12th after the first qualification run, and Leonie Gerken-Schofield bidding to make the moguls final at what is also their first Olympics.