Canadian Ski Jumper Alex Loutitt Flies to Bronze at World Cup in Slovenia

LJUBNO, Slo.—Alex Loutitt continued her dream season by landing on the World Cup podium for an unprecedented sixth time this year, taking the bronze in Ljubno, Slovenia.

The adrenaline-seeking Calgarian secured third place with a total score of 258.9 points on the normal hill.

“This is one of my favourite hills and has been since the first day I was here, but I wasn’t really happy with my jumps to be honest,” said Loutitt. “I am happy though to know I can be on the podium even without good jumps.”

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 20-year-old Loutitt put together leaps of 89 and 88.5 metres in her two attempts, landing in a bowl of 10,000 screaming fans.

“The takeoffs were good, but my flying wasn’t working so my style was suffering and it just didn’t come together,” added Loutitt, who along with her teammates have relocated to Planica, Slovenia – a ski jumping paradise just under two hours down the road from Saturday’s event.

“It was so cool to have 10,000 people for the only women’s ski jumping event in Slovenia this year. It was amazing. We definitely get extra support (from the Slovenian crowd because we have relocated here). I was jumping after Abi (Strate) and I could hear them cheering for her just as loud as the Slovenian girls so it was pretty cool.”

Austria’s Eva Pinkelnig finished on top with a score of 269.3 points. Slovenia’s Nika Prevc settled for the silver medal at 262.5 points.

It was the second time this year Loutitt put on her beloved and lucky rabbit fur moccasins – a nod to her Gwich’in First Nation roots – and hopped onto the podium in three straight events. 

After racking up four bronze medals to finish third overall on the Summer Grand Prix season, Loutitt rocketed into the 2023-24 winter campaign with three straight podiums – two silvers, one bronze. Saturday’s medal-winning flight now brings her career total to eight World Cup podiums along with her senior and junior World Championship crowns she received one year ago.

Last week she also teamed up with her dynamic Olympic medal winning teammate, Abigail Strate, to win Canada’s first ever World Cup medal in a Super Team ski jumping competition, when they combined flight paths for the silver.

The 22-year-old Strate has enjoyed a breakthrough season of her own. The dynamic Calgarian flew into the New Year with two bronze and a silver medal run of her own in normal and large hill jumping. Her only other World Cup podium came last year when she claimed a bronze medal in Hinterzarten, Germany 

Nicknamed Bee on the elite jumping circuit, Strate put up another good fight on Saturday in Slovenia, landing in seventh spot with 249.9 points after her two jumps.

“Abi and I both believed we could do this. I think people forget how young we are, but we are both Olympic medallists, and I’m a World Champion, so we both know how to handle the pressure of competing and putting out those consistent results,” said Loutitt, who is proud to showcase her Indigenous culture on the world stage while leveraging her platform as an elite athlete to educate others about Indigenous culture in Canada.

Nicole Maurer, a 24-year-old aspiring astronaut, who is currently working on a dual major in computer science and astrophysics at the University of Calgary while battling with the top jumpers on the planet, did not advance to the final round with the top-30, placing 34th.

The Canadians have climbed back into fourth overall in the Nations Cup standings. Loutitt remains in fifth place overall in the individual standings, while Abigail Strate is eighth.

The World Cup continues Sunday in Slovenia with another competition slated on the normal hill.

Complete Women’s World Cup Results (Normal Hill) – Ljubno, Slovenia

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.