Canadian Ski Jumper Alex Loutitt Leaps to Bronze at World Cup Opener in Norway
LILLEHAMMER, Nor.—Canada’s Alex Loutitt landed on the World Cup ski jumping podium for the third time in her young career on Saturday, taking the bronze medal at the season-opener in Lillehammer, Norway.
The 19-year-old soared to third place after totalling 241.6 points in her two leaps off the normal-sized hill.
“This is is a good place to be. It is a huge step for me to start the season off on the podium,” said Loutitt. “It obviously is a good sign of where my training and my head is at, so I have to be happy.”
The adrenaline-seeker from Calgary led 40 of the world’s best women’s jumpers into the first competition of the season after finishing as the top qualifier on Friday. She flew the Canadian maple leaf to the top of the standings once again in the first roud Saturday where she measured the longest jump of the day at 96.0 metres. A small timing mistake on the take off of her second attempt bumped her down to third spot.
“I made a silly mistake jumping a bit early on my second jump,” added Loutitt. “This is a hill that I struggle a bit with my timing. You need the feeling of the transition point and I’m guessing a bit when I jump early.
“As Janko (head coach) says, ‘ski jumping is about romance.’ It appears to be about power and explosiveness but it is about being graceful and relaxed. The more chill and flow you have the better the jump is going to be.”
Japan’s Yuki Ito flew to the top of the podium with 244.6 points after posting the top flight in the final round. Josephine Pagnier, of France, secured the silver medal at 242.7 points.
For just the second time in history, all four of the Canadian women qualified for the competition rounds on the HS98 hill.
Calgary’s Abigail Strate scrapped her way to 20th spot with 207.3 points. Nicole Maurer, Calgary, did not advance to the third round with the 30 best leapers in the opening round, finishing 34th overall. Natalie Eilers, of Calgary, was not able to compete.
“It was a good start for the team. Alex likely would have won the competition if it wasn’t for the really early take off in that second round. Abi was a bit tense, but we know she will be fine, and Nicole did very well at takeoff but just made a small mistake in the air so it wasn’t quite enough to qualify for the second round,” said, head coach, Janko Zwitter, who guides the Canadian troops in their centralized training groud in Slovenia.
Loutitt has been on quite a flight path over the last year. She picked up where she left off in the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix summer series that saw her finish third overall with four bronze-medal finishes. The reigning senior and junior women’s World Championship titleholder also had a silver medal on the large hill at the in Lillehammer World Cup stop one year ago – it came just two months after winning the first World Cup of her career in Zao, Japan.
“I think today also shows that even when I’m not at my best, I can be right there and that is a good place to be and is a sign of how far we have come,” added Loutitt, who was able to reflect on her breakthrough season last year as FIS awarded her with the 2022-23 Rookie of the Season on Saturday. “Everyone knows that I’m a big hill jumper so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Loutitt and the four-pack of Canucks will look to build on their historic run tomorrow when they take flight on the HS140 large hill.
Complete Women’s World Cup Results – Lillehammer, 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
