Consistent Canuck Alex Loutitt Flies to Fifth at World Cup in Oslo
OSLO, Nor.—Alex Loutitt continues to be a model of consistency on the World Cup ski jumping circuit, regularly placing in the top-five.
The Calgary-born leaper landed in fifth spot on Sunday in Oslo on the second day of the prestigious three-hill Raw Air event that his held in conjunction with the World Cup circuit in Norway.
Loutitt, a self-described big hill athlete, covered distances of 123 and 123.5 metres in her two attempts on Sunday. The 20-year-old racked up a total of 224.6 points.
“I’m really happy. I’ve been struggling a lot in training, and I struggled in Lahti so to be consistently good, feels really good,” said Loutitt, who sits fourth overall on the women’s World Cup standings.
“It is relieving to be back to myself.”
Norway’s Eirin Maria Kvandal defended her home hill, soaring to a golden score of 242.2. Slovenia’s Nika Prevc was second at 240.0 and Austria’s Eva Pinkelnig locked up the bronze medal with 231.4 points.
Loutitt is sixth in the Raw Air standings after the opening weekend with 523.5 points. Eirin Maria Kvandal is first with 588.7 points. The Raw Air event tests the world’s top leapers over two World Cup events in Oslo and Trondheim before the top-15 take on a ski flying hill in Vikersund to become the overall winner.
“I do feel like I have an advantage in this event where it is six events across 12 days. It is not an easy tournament especially because you have a competition almost every single day. Even the travel days are hard in a bus or airplane. They are long days and it is tough to keep motivated when things are hard, and it is hard to wait when things are good,” added Loutitt.
“I think my monkey ADHD brain helps with this. I’m able to fixate on other things and I am able to bring my focus on what matters when it is the right time. Physically I’m in really good shape even though we are coming into that final leg of the season.”
Calgary’s Abigail Strate also qualified for Sunday’s competition with the top-40 athletes where she finished 29th at 166.4 points. It was Strate’s first weekend of competitions in her comeback from an injury she sustained after rattling off three World Cup podiums this season.
Strate and Loutitt have both been on a positive flight path this year that has the Canadian team in sixth place in the overall World Cup standings. Loutitt has six podium finishes of her own along with a handful of top-five placings.
On Saturday, the determined Canuck battled through extremely challenging conditions to finish in fourth place. It was the fourth time this year she has finished one spot off the podium.
“I’m really happy with my fourth palce. The conditions were really tough for the last six or seven girls. Lots of waiting and hoping that you’d have decent conditions,” said Loutitt, who added coaches nearly pulled her from the event due to the inconsistent winds. “I’m glad they let me jump. The results weren’t incredible, but I am really happy.”
The World Cup and Raw Air event continues Tuesday in Trondheim.
Complete Women’s World Cup Results (Large Hill) – Oslo, Norway
Ski Jumping Canada is the governing federation for ski jumping in Canada. It is responsible for the governance of all ski jumping competitions in Canada and for the operation of the national team. For more information, please visit skijumpingcanada.com.
