Esther Bottomley was born on 8th February 1983 in Terang, Victoria but moved to Mount Beauty and became affiliated with the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club. She was the first female Australian athlete to compete at three WInter Olympic Games in Cross Country. She competed at Torino in 2006, Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014. Esther has also competed in events in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in the sprint event in 2003 and 2005. Her best World Cup finish was 18th in a team sprint event at Canada in 2009. Esher was also the winner of the Women's Kangaroo Hoppet in 2010 and 2011. This image is significant because it depicts an Australian Winter olympian and dual Kangaroo Hoppet winner.A coloured image of Esther Bottomley competing in the Kangaroo Hoppet 2010.australian winter olympians, esther bottomley, kangaroo hoppet

The Kangaroo Hoppet is Australia’s premier long distance cross country ski race, and a member of the Worldloppet series of international cross country ski events. After running the event for 10 years, it was decided they should become part of the Worldloppet series of marathon ski races. Representatives from the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club and the Australian Ski Federation attended the Worldloppet Annual Meeting in Finland in June 1990 to put the case for the acceptance of an Australian event into the Worldloppet series. Before being admitted, they had to demonstrate that the Birkebeiner Club could run a world class event, so three months later in August 1990 a 42km event named the Australian International Ski Marathon was held at Falls Creek together with a 21km Birkebeiner race and a 7km event called the Birkebeiner Lite. The event was approved by delegates from USA, Norway and Austria, in 1991 Australia became the 12th member of Worldloppet, with the condition that there had to be a name change. After some late night discussion allegedly involving red wine from North East Victoria the main event became the 42km Kangaroo Hoppet, with the minor events being the 21km Australian Birkebeiner, and 7km Joey Hoppet. In the winter of 1991, the first Kangaroo Hoppet was held. It was a great success and has been a regular fixture on the international ski calendar ever since. It features the main 42km event as well as a 21km event and a 7km event. The Hoppet brings the Australian snowfields to an international audience. In 2011 the Men's Winner was Petr Novak from the Czech Republic in a time of 1:16:04. The winner of the Women's event was Esther Bottomley of Australia in a time of 1:42:22. Due to lack of snow, the course had to be relocated to the Mt McKay area at the top of the ski resort. The 42km Hoppet course was shortened to 30km.This poster is significant because it documents an event which brings international attention to Falls Creek and the surrounding region.A poster featuring a group of competitors from a previous Hoppet event. A Kangaroo Hoppet road sign is on the left. The page border is yellow. Logos of AGL, Falls Creek All Season Alpine Resort, Alpine Shire, Tourism Victoria, Parks Victoria and the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club are across the bottom of the poster.At the top: Kangaroo HOPPET 21 Australia's PREMIER X-COUNTRY SKI RACE On the road sign: KANGAROO HOPPET 42km Beneath the image 27th August 2011/ 42KM 21KM 7KM Below the line of logos: Ph. 03 5754 1045 / [email protected] www.hoppet.com.au Across the bottom in larger cursive text www.hoppet.com.aukangaroo hoppet, worldloppet events, falls creek, mt. beauty

The Kangaroo Hoppet is Australia’s premier long distance cross country ski race, and a member of the Worldloppet series of international cross country ski events. The first race at Falls Creek was held in 1979 under the name of “Australian Birkebeiner”. It was a 21km race with about 80 participants organised by the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club of Mount Beauty. The course started and finished at Falls Creek Alpine Resort and took participants out into the Bogong High Plains. After running the event for 10 years, it was decided they should become part of the Worldloppet series of marathon ski races. Representatives from the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club and the Australian Ski Federation attended the Worldloppet Annual Meeting in Finland in June 1990 to put the case for the acceptance of an Australian event into the Worldloppet series. Before being admitted, they had to demonstrate that the Birkebeiner Club could run a world class event, so three months later in August 1990 a 42km event named the Australian International Ski Marathon was held at Falls Creek together with a 21km Birkebeiner race and a 7km event called the Birkebeiner Lite. The event was approved by delegates from USA, Norway and Austria, in 1991 Australia became the 12th member of Worldloppet, with the condition that there had to be a name change. After some late night discussion allegedly involving red wine from North East Victoria the main event became the 42km Kangaroo Hoppet, with the minor events being the 21km Australian Birkebeiner, and 7km Joey Hoppet. In the winter of 1991, the first Kangaroo Hoppet was held. It was a great success and has been a regular fixture on the international ski calendar ever since. It features the main 42km event as well as a 21km event and a 7km event. The Hoppet brings the Australian snowfields to an international audience. In 2010 the Men's Winner was Valerio Leccardi from Switzerland in a time of 1:42:46. The winner of the Women's event was Esther Bottomley of Australia in a time of 1:55:49. This poster is significant because it documents an event which brings international attention to Falls Creek and the surrounding region.A poster featuring a silhouette of a skier and two kangaroos against an orange sunset. The main colour of the poster is black. The logos of AGL, Alpine Shire, Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club, Parks Victoria, Tourism Victoria and Falls Creek are across the bottom of the poster.At the top in gold: kangaroo hoppet 20 and within a gold laurel wreath KANGAROO HOPPET 20 YEARS Beneath the skier and kangaroos: Saturday 28th August 2010 / Falls Creek, Australia beside the Worldloppet Logo, Below the line of logos: www.hoppet.com.aukangaroo hoppet, worldloppet events, falls creek, mt. beauty