Abigail Strate and Alexandria Loutitt have their Olympic Debut in the Ski Jumping Women’s Normal Hill Individual Event
BEIJING, Chn- Abigail Strate finishes in the top 30 at her Olympic Debut.
The 20-year-old Canadian finished the Women’s Normal Hill Individual with 161.9 points, placing her in 23rd position.
Inconsistent conditions proved difficult for the jury to handle. With multiple wind holds, gate position changes, and a delay to the second round, it was clear that success in the event would depend on athletes looking past the conditions and focusing on their jumping.
Abigail Strate and Alexandria Loutitt both headed to Beijing with terrific results on the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup circuit. With both athletes having finished in the top 15, they would be looking to put down solid jumps, with their eyes set on the top 10.
The first round would prove difficult for Abigail Strate, she would face unfavourable conditions that added a level of difficulty. “I ended up getting some tricky conditions in the first round, I can’t really blame myself for that but I’m just happy to be here, I feel so much love and support from so many people, and it makes me just realize how many people are in my corner and supporting my journey”, said Strate.
Despite a less than ideal first jump, she would qualify for the second round, where she was able to improve by 9m to land at a distance of 84.5m.
Alexandria Loutitt would have a great first round jump landing at 85.5m, unfortunately she would be unable to pass through equipment control, where she would be disqualified for a ski length violation, ending her competition. The sport of Ski Jumping has a multitude of rules on athletes equipment to ensure an even playing field. Equipment could be out of spec by a mere 0.5cm, and it would lead to a disqualification. Athletes’ ski length is determined by a combination of their height and their weight. For Loutitt it was determined that her ski length would be too long for her current weight. Athletes and coaches do their best to ensure that all of the equipment is up to the vigorous standards, but unfortunately when the error of margin is so small disqualifications become quite standard in the sport.
Both Strate and Loutitt showed they have the potential to achieve a great result in the competitive field. They represented their country, and the Canadian Ski Jumping community well, and will be using this experience as they get ready for the Mixed Team event on February 7th.
Complete Results: https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=JP&raceid=6349
For complete details on Team Canada at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, please visit: https://olympic.ca/games/beijing-2022/
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Nathaniel Mah
Media and Public Relations
Ski Jumping Canada
E-mail: nmah@nordiqcanada.ca
Tara Macbournie
Coordinator, sport communications
Canadian Olympic Commitee
