Canadian Ski Jumper Alex Loutitt Takes Silver at World Cup in Switzerland

ENGELBERG, Sui.—Alex Loutitt extended her World Cup podium streak to three after flying to the silver medal on Friday in Engelberg, Switzerland.

The 19-year-old ski jumping ace battled to her second straight silver medal in large hill jumping with a total of 290.2 points.

“I’m pretty happy even though I didn’t win,” said Loutitt, who was also second best in Thursday’s qualifying round to determine the top-40 athletes on Friday. “My goal was not to be too early today. I was about three metres late (in my first jump) but I was able to find the middle ground and perfectly hit the takeoff (on my second jump) and it felt very good.”

The natural-born leaper from Calgary was sitting in sixth place after her first launch off the HS140 hill. The big-hill jumper rocketed into podium contention after nailing the furthest jump of the day at 139.0 metres in her second attempt on a hill she feels comfortable on.

“It took me a couple of jumps to figure her out, but I finally got there, and I think that the really long knoll complements my style of jumping,” said Loutitt. “It’s hard not to get excited (when you nail the timing) and you know it is going to be good. You have all of these feelings happening at once. It is just an awesome feeling in the air, but you have to be patient. I know I lost the victory to style points, but even though I didn’t win, I can walk away happy because I don’t hold myself to the results, it’s about the process.”

Josephine Pagnier, of France, took top spot on the women’s podium with 293.0 points. Slovenia’s Ema Klinec landed on the bronze-medal step of the podium with 289.4 points.

Hills are measured by the average spot where jumpers are expected to land safely, or where the hill flattens. A normal hill is usually 90 metres and the large hill is 120 metres. Jumps are scored on both distance and style. The women’s large hill competition will make its Olympic debut at the 2026 Games in Milano/Cortina.

After winning her first four bronze medals on the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix where she finished third overall this summer, Loutitt doubled her career World Cup medal total in the opening two events of the winter season two weeks ago, and continued the dream start to the World Cup season into Switzerland.

The reigning senior and junior women’s World Championship titleholder has two silvers, and one bronze-medal finishes in as many events, crediting proper preparation with her world-leading coaching staff for her consistent results where she is now bringing more confidence to the top of the hill at each competition.

“This is the first time that I’ve been able to fully prepare for a World Cup season and first with these coaches for a full World Cup year,” added Loutitt, who had knee surgery prior to breaking her foot last summer in training at the team’s home base in Planica, Slovenia.

“After the Olympics, we took it easy and didn’t jump back into things after such a big, emotional event so I only did half the World Cups where I was consistently getting better but was also learning who I was as an athlete and a person at just 17 years old,” added Loutitt. “After surgery, I was jumping, training and preparing, but I was really in recovery mode and then I broke my foot so I really didn’t have a full season.”

The setback after launching into the historic books with her Canadian comrades by winning Canada’s first ever Olympic medal in the mixed team event at the 2022 Games, is exactly what the doctor ordered to help the adrenaline seeker fly even further in her career.

“Even though I performed well last winter, I do think I needed to break my foot to realize the person I needed and wanted to be,” said Loutitt. “Knowing this (journey) could all be over in a second. It makes me appreciate things more and is the reason for where I am now.”

Loutitt is not alone in this heartwarming story of resilence where four young Canadian women packed up their belongings and relocated their national program to Slovenia to keep their sport alive. Sticking together, each of the team members have performed against the longest of odds. Living out of suitcases, access to minimal equipment, and often seen using hand-me-downs, the small but mighty team has combined to rack up more than 40, top-10 finishes on the World Cup and summer Grand Prix events in the last 12 months which has now included six World Cup winter podium finishes.

Calgary’s Abigail Strate has very much been a part of this memorable script. A World Cup medallist, Strate battled to 23rd on Friday at 229.7 points. Nicole Maurer, also of Calgary, did not advance to the second round with the top-30, placing 37th overall.

The World Cup continues on Saturday in Engelberg, Switzerland with another large hill competition.

Complete Women’s World Cup Results (Large Hill) – Engelberg, Switzerland

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.