The sport of Ice Cross Downhill may still be dominated by Europeans and North Americans, who have gobbled up all seven world championships so far, but the popularity of the fastest sport on skates is growing around the globe. Four athletes from the far corners of the world were able to show off their skills at races in the 2015/16 season with promising results pointing towards a bright future for the sport on all five continents.
Chile's Camilo Gaez is the only South American in the sport so far and the 36-year-old showed steady improvement in his third full season in the sport. Even though Gaez is ranked 91st overall, he managed to get as high as 45th place at the Red Bull Crashed Ice race in Jyväskylä-Laajis, Finland and finished the season on a high note with 56th in Saint Paul. The former hockey player has lived in Finland during parts of his life but proudly wears Chile's national white, red and blue colors at Ice Cross Downhill races.
(L-R) Camilo Gaez of Chile, Luke Webb of Australia and Akira Saruwatari of Japan tackle the ice in Saint Paul. Photo: Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Content Pool.
Australia's Luke Webb, representing the continent Down Under, is another one of the "exotic" athletes who are helping spread the sport around the world. He saw some racing action online one day and he was hooked. "I love being on ice," said Webb, a student who managed to get a respectable 77th place at the Red Bull Crashed Ice race in Saint Paul after his debut at the Riders Cup race in Bathurst, Canada earlier in the season. He said Ice Cross Downhill combines the sports he loves in Australia: ice skating, downhill inline, street and park rollerblading. "When I saw the first race a few years ago online, I knew I wanted to try it."
Webb thinks the sport has huge potential in Australia. "A lot of my mates back home all play inline hockey and ice hockey so they have a fair idea. Once you show them this, it'll spread like wildfire and they end up spreading the word. I'm hoping that coming across this year opens the door for more Australians to try their hand at one of the most exciting race series I have managed to find to date. But I do believe that Australians have just as much of a chance as anyone else out there."
Japan's Junko Yamamoto has had five races in her career. Photo: Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Content Pool.
Japan has had two stalwarts in the race for several years who represent Asia. Junko Yamamoto has been a fierce competitor in the women's race this season and Akira Saruwatari has been trying to break into the sport's elite on the men's side since 2012. With seven races under his belt, Saruwatari's best result was 35th at Are, Sweden in 2012. The 30-year-old was 59th in the Riders Cup race in Sherbrooke, Canada this season. Yamamoto, 33, has had five races in her career with the best result coming in Munich 2016 when she was ninth on the fastest track ever built.