Profile - Ed Drake

Ed is one of Britain's best male skiers with a World Ranking of under 50 and achieving single FIS points in super G. He started skiing at a very young age and was soon training with the England team in Saas Fee. Having impressed his peers and selectors with his passion and talent for the sport, in 2004 Ed was selected for the British Land Alpine Junior Ski Team as part of the World Class Start Programme. That year he also won the Kandahar Premier Award and then won the Kandahar Junior and Senior Championships in 2005. In December 2005 Ed had surgery on his hip, after being diagnosed with a damaged ligament.

The beginning of 2006 was extremely difficult for Ed as he had been competing for as long as he could remember and he was not allowed to ski at all. This sacrifice proved worthwhile, however, when Ed was able to start intense pre-season training in May. After 20 months of not racing, the start of the 2006/2007 season was an important moment for Ed. He participated in the November training camp with the Junior and Senior teams and was told in December that he could start racing again, finally. In January 2006 Ed won a FIS Slalom race in Elm, Austria, proving that he was back on top form.  At the Scottish Championships Ed came 2^nd in the slalom behind Noel Baxter.

A couple of intense seasons later, at the end of 2008, Ed was skiing in many Europa Cup races and completed his best run to date, finishing 11^th in Reiteralm. This was an extremely important result as it meant that Ed qualified for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. He then went on to win the Overall British Championship in Meribel. In 2009 Ed raced in his first World Cup, the Downhill race in Wengen, in which he finished 55^th. At the 2009 World Championships Ed finished 27^th in Downhill and 29^th in Super-G, very credible results indeed. At the Tarvisio Europa Cup Ed produced an incredible result - 4^th in Super-G! At the British Championships Ed won the Super-G and Giant Slalom, sharing the Overall title with Dave Ryding.

Ed had a very successful 2009/2010 season, finishing 4^th in the inaugural South American Cup in the Slalom and Super Combined. Back in Europe at Reiteralm Europa Cup Super G Ed had a fantastic result finishing on the podium 3^rd place. At the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games Ed's best position was 29^th in the Super Combined. Ed's injuries later in the season meant that he was unable to defend his titles at the British Championships in Meribel.

Alongside being an elite athlete Ed is a key member of the BSS Board and is an ambassador for the sport as a whole.

For further details: http://www.edwarddrake.co.uk/