Canadian Ski Jumpers Alex Loutitt and Abigail Strate Blown into Top 12 at World Championships
TRONDHEIM, Nor.—Canada’s top two women’s ski jumpers landed on top of each other in the standings as Mother Nature stole the show at the women’s large hill World Championship competition in Trondheim, Norway.
The defending World Champion, Alex Loutitt, flew to 10th spot, while her Olympic medal-winning teammate, Abigail Strate, landed in 11th. Nicole Maurer was 24th. Competition officials made it a one-round event after high winds blew through the Norwegian Nordic Centre.
“We struggled with the rhythm of the large hill, being late at the take off, and we were for sure missing the three jumps other teams had in the mixed team competition, but to end up 10, 11 and 24 is solid,” said Janko Zwitter, head coach, Canadian Ski Jumping Team. “We all know that winning medals is what counts at the end of the day and what we are striving for. The team spirit and mental approach were absolutely amazing here. We just needed some really good jumps in the training to be totally competitive.”
The 21-year-old Loutitt covered 119 metres off the big hill for a total of 109.8 points.
“Definitely having some mixed feelings about my World Championships. Going into this my jumps were some of the best ever, and my eagerness to prove them cost me.” said Loutitt who qualified in seventh spot. “Not being able to defend my title, or bring home any hardware is difficult, but it will fade with time and leave me hungry for Milan.”
Abigail Strate continues to peak in the final stretch of the season. Two weeks after her first World Cup podium of the season, and seven days removed from matching fifth place finishes with Loutitt in the normal hill World Championship event, the 24-year-old placed 11th. Qualifying in fifth spot, Strate measured 122 metres in her lone attempt of the official competition.
Slovenia’s Nika Prevc became the first athlete to win World Championship titles on both hills after chalking up a golden score of 150.9 points. Germany’s Selina Freitag was second at 136.7. Norways Eirin Kvandal locked up the bronze medal with 132.4 points.
The third Calgarian in the field, Nicole Maurer, has also been enjoying a breakthrough season, consistently posting career-best finishes over the last month. The 23-year-old covered 111.5 metres on Friday to secure a tie for 24th spot with 79 points.
“We were definitely close to the podium this week, especially on the normal hill where Abi and Ale were third and fifth after the first round, just 3 points behind the top athlete. Nicole also did an amazing second round with the 13h best jump,” added Zwitter. “The upcoming events could be a chance to show the world that we have been doing a great job throughout the year, and we are really looking forward to it.”
Complete Women’s World Championship Results (Large Hill) – Trondheim, 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.
