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Aussie maniac stuns fans with attire at Ski World Championships

Australian skier Mark Pollock's choice of singlet and shorts while competing at the Ski World Championships in Germany last weekend got fans talking. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Australian skier Mark Pollock's choice of singlet and shorts while competing at the Ski World Championships in Germany last weekend got fans talking. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

In what has been interpreted as a typically Australian response to unseasonably warm conditions at the Ski World Championships in Germany, 28-year-old Mark Pollock saw fit to get dressed for the weather.

Typically held in sub-zero temperatures, Pollock and his fellow cross-country skiing competitors were instead greeted with a positively mild and sunny three degree day in Oberstorf.

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Faced with much warmer weather than competitors are used to, Aussie hopeful Pollock opted to abandon the customary full-body skins and instead went with a singlet and shorts.

The sight of the Australian skier's bare arms and legs had the winter sports world in awe, with Eurosport commentators describing it as an 'eye-catching' outfit.

Unfortunately the bold outfit choice didn't translate into high placings for Pollock, who finished 95th in the 10km Nordic Ski final, and did not finish the 15km double pursuit after being lapped by the race leader.

After the double pursuit, Pollock was more concerned about the race than the sensation his outfit had caused.

“I always get hot at races. I only wear a vest when the temperature rises above 3-4 degrees,” he said afterwards.

“I am very disappointed that I was caught.”

While he was on the course, footage of his unconventional skiing attire was spreading on social media.

Aussies preparing for 2022 Winter Olympics

Australia's Winter Olympic medallist Matt Graham is keeping a close eye on Tokyo but remains confident the Games will go ahead in Beijing in a year's time.

With the 2020 Summer Olympics being postponed by a year, the two Games will be held just six months apart with the Winter equivalent set down for February 4 to 20.

Australia is looking to send more than 50 athletes, with 2800 expected to compete on the biggest winter sporting stage.

While rumours continue Tokyo, due to start July 23, will be cancelled with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to rage, Graham says Australia's winter Olympians are planning for the China Games.

"It's still a while way and at the moment, Tokyo is the big question mark but everyone like the IOC is pushing ahead for that," Graham, who won silver in the moguls in Pyeongchang, told AAP from Deer Valley ahead of the upcoming World Cup.

"In my mind it is going ahead and I have to treat it like that and that will motivate me to train as much as I can over the next 12 months.

"If I question it too much it can be pretty easy to get complacent and slack off, so I'm going to act as if it's going to happen and fingers crossed it does."

Graham felt the lack of team sports in the Winter Olympics compared to Summer meant it would be easier to manage in a COVID-19 world.

"It's mostly individual sports so in that respect it's a lot easier to isolate and distance all of the competitors and also in our sport everyone is doing the event one by one, you're not racing right next to someone.

"Logistically it's more viable but there's still a lot of complications."

With AAP

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