Robinson carving a niche

Dual medal contender

Robinson's results make her a multi-medal contender for the Feb 6-22 Milano-Cortina Olympics -where she could become the first Alpine skiing gold medalist from her country.

New Zealand's only Olympic medal in Alpine skiing was a silver in slalom won by Annelise Coberger at the 1992 Albertville Games.

Coberger's brother, Nils Coberger, is one of Robinson's coaches.

At last season's world championships, Robinson took silver behind Federica Brignone in giant slalom for New Zealand's first medal in the biggest skiing competition outside of the Olympics.

Constantly being on snow does have some drawbacks, though.

"There's certain things about summer that I miss, because in New Zealand we have Christmas and New Year over summer so that's kind of a bit more of a memory that I miss," Robinson told reporters earlier this season. "My one advantage being from New Zealand is that I get to train at home in the offseason when everyone else is traveling around."

And when she's in the Alps, Robinson takes advantage of the abundance of wellness facilities.

"I've become a bit of a spa fan," she said. "In New Zealand we just don't do that — hotels don't have spas."