KEY POINTS:
Christchurch downhill skier Mark Bridgwater has been rewarded for defying the pain barrier by earning a place at next year's world championships in Are, Sweden.
Bridgwater persuaded a surgeon to hold off on operating on a ruptured ligament in his thumb, sustained while training in Colorado, to record two personal best results at the Nor-Am Cup downhill events at Lake Louise, Canada last week.
He placed 16th and 18th in a strong field, resulting in a reduction in his FIS points and world ranking climb from 385 to around 250 on the next FIS list due out in early January.
These results also ensure Bridgwater a start at the world championships in Sweden in February.
He went in to surgery the following day to have the ligament repaired, meaning he missed the NorAm Super-G and Super-Combi events at Panorama, Canada.
Bridgwater, who has been training alongside Austrian stars Benni Raich and Michael Walchhoffer in Colorado, hoped to be back competing next week and will return to New Zealand after Christmas for a conditioning period.
Meanwhile, his New Zealand teammate Benjamin Griffin also scored two personal best Super-G results at Nor-Am events to reduce his FIS points considerably. His world rank will drop from 775 to around 510.
- NZPA
