From Olympic athlete to Olympic coach: Branch joins coaching ranks in Beijing 2022

Triple Olympian Craig Branch is currently in Beijing at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, working as a technical coach with the Australian Alpine team.

Branch has a long history in the sport, having represented Australia at three Olympic Games in alpine skiing, making him the perfect fit for the role.

Branch was brought into the team to assist Alpine Performance Manager Mick Branch to provide technical coaching to Louis Muhlen-Schulte and Katie Parker.

Snow Australia Performance Pathway & Program Manager Ben Wordsworth said he is proud to see Branch taking his coaching to the next level.

“Craig has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the sport of alpine skiing, with over 35 years of experience as both an athlete and a coach,” Wordsworth said.

“As a competitor, he represented Australia at three Olympic Winter Games, six FIS World Championships and a multitude of FIS World Cup events.

“Since retiring, Craig has pursued a career as a coach, and has served as the Thredbo Ski Racing Club Program Director since 2019.

“Under his guidance, Thredbo SKi Racing Club has transformed from a broad-based race Club into a performance based Club.

“Craig’s key aim at TSRC is to create a structure and environment which gives young aspiring athletes their best opportunity at progressing through the pathway of the sport, and therefore, the potential for a higher representation of Australians on the World Cup circuit.

“More recently, Craig has also been an integral part of the Snow Australia Coach Academy, where we have seen him go from strength to strength.

“On behalf of everyone at Snow Australia, I’d like to congratulate Craig on his appointment to the Olympic team, and wish him and his athletes the best of luck in their competition,” he said.

To find out more about the Snow Australia Coach Academy - click here