Wells narrowly misses medal at Youth Olympics

Beau-James Wells. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand's Beau-James Wells finished fourth in the freeski halfpipe at the inaugural Youth Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, this week.

The 15-year-old from the renowned Wanaka-based Wells family led after the early rounds but was beaten for the top spot by just 1.5 points.

Father and coach Bruce Wells said Beau-James is in good shape for the future.

"I'm really pleased with Beau's performance,'' he said. "When the pressure was on in the finals, he stepped it up and skied out of his skin. He just didn't have the level of tricks that some of the others had.

"We're working on tricks at that level but haven't added them to his competition runs yet. Our sights are set on successes at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018.''

Wells is one of 15 young New Zealand athletes competing at Innsbruck. Hamish Bagley got a top-10 finish in the snowboard halfpipe and alpine skier Piera Hudson, 15, of Hawke's Bay secured top-20 finishes in the super G and combined.

The mixed curling team finished seventh in their group with two wins and five defeats - they were beaten by Korea 9-4 in their final game - and ice hockey skills duo Callum Burns and Libby-Jean Hay are fourth and eighth heading into the final on January 19.

"The Olympic environment is unique,'' said New Zealand Chef de Mission Pete Wardell. "The Youth Olympic Winter Games are a new way to provide our athletes with the experience they need to progress in the competitive winter sports world. The level of competition here is extremely high. We'll be seeing some of these athletes go on to Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018.''

A handful of Kiwis will compete in the final five days of the competition, including Hudson in the giant slalom and slalom, and the curlers move into the mixed pairs competition.