Alex Loutitt Flies to Third Straight Bronze Medal at Summer Ski Jumping Grand Prix in Poland
Canadians Abigail Strate lands in sixth place, Nicole Maurer in 29th
SZCZYRK, Pol.—Canadian Alex Loutitt is not shy to admit that she enjoys the summer sun but has never found her mojo on ski jumping towers around the world when the flowers are in full bloom during the unique Grand Prix season.
That has all started to change over the last two weeks as the 19-year-old ski jumping rockstar is blossoming herself in the air.
Loutitt soared to her third-straight bronze medal in as many races on the elite summer ski jumping schedule – this time while flying to the podium through the low cloud cover in Szczyrk, Poland on Saturday.
“Most athletes prefer the summer, but I’m not one of those even though I enjoy being outside when it is nice out. I’m just not a summer jumper (traditionally) and tend to perform better in the winter so I’m happy to be performing at this level when it is usually more challenging for me,” said the Calgarian, who added the sport is performed in the summer on an in-run where the tracks are made from porcelain and the grass on the slope is covered with water-soaked plastic.
Loutitt won the first two Grand Prix medals of her young career in as many days one week ago while conquering the large 132-metre hill in Courchevel, France. On Saturday, she racked up 258.7 points in her two flights on the normal-sized 104-metre hill in Poland to complete the ski jumping hat-trick.
“I am jumping with more confidence and it feels like it is the first time I have been able to do that in the summer consistently which is really cool,” added Loutitt, who covered 102.0 metres in her first flight, the furthest of the 36 athletes all day. She followed that up with a 98.0 metre jump in her second attempt.
“I think there are things to fix with both jumps. The one (takeoff/flight) was good but the landing was a bit shaky and on the second one it was other was the other way around. Between them is the place where you learn and then good things happen.”
Good things have been happening to Loutitt and the Canadian Ski Jumping program over the last two years. Since shocking the world with a bronze medal at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Loutitt and her Canadian comrades have been rewriting the ski jumping history books.
The Canadian women’s team has racked up 30, top-10 finishes on the World Cup and summer Grand Prix events in the last 12 months which has included three World Cup winter podium finishes. Loutitt also made history winning both the senior and junior women’s World Championship titles last winter.
“The (results over the last two weekends) are confirmation that I am capable and that last year wasn’t a fluke and I have earned it,” said Loutitt. “The last piece for me to work on has been my consistency – that is the reason I chose to compete in the summer – these results are showing that is now there, but I’m hungry for more.”
As a result, the adrenaline-seeking junky continues to add new chapters to her historic story. On Saturday, she was part of another memorable milestone for international women’s ski jumping.
“For the first time in history, we have the same three people finish in the same order for the first three Grand Prix races so that is very cool to be a part of that,” laughed Loutitt.
The Poland results were a copy and paste from the first two of 12 events on the six-stop Grand Prix that wraps up in October.
Slovenia’s Nika Kriznar captured her third-straight gold with 276.5 points. Japan’s Sara Takanashi edged Loutitt out for the silver medal with a total of 261.4 points.
Two of Canada’s other female flyers also took flight in Poland.
Abigail Strate remained steady in her third-straight summer event, placing sixth with a 225.3 point total. The 22-year-old, who was eighth and fourth last weekend in France, measured jumps of 98.0 and 90.0.
Calgary’s Nicole Maurer joined her Canadian teammates in competition for the first time this season. The 23-year-old placed 29th with 146.8 points after measuring jumps of 80.0 and 77.5 metres.
The top women’s ski jumpers in the world will be back on the normal hill Sunday.
Complete Women’s Grand Prix Results – Poland:
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.ca
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Chris Dornan, Communications Advisor
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Tel: 403-620-8731
Email: hpprchris@shaw.ca
