Canadian Ski Jumpers Land Two in Top-10 at World Cup Opener

LILLEHAMMER, Nor.—Canada’s women’s ski jumping squad proved they are ready to soar with the world’s best on the flight path to Milano/Cortina 2026 while opening the pre-Olympic season with two athletes landing in the top-10, and all three racking up prestigious points at the World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway.

Calgary leaper, 20-year-old Alex Loutitt, was tops in the qualification jump with 143.2 points, leading the best 40 women into the official competition. The Olympic medallist was steady in her two competition attempts, finishing in eighth spot with 213.0 points.

“Winning the qualifying round shows us that we are absolutely competitive. The consistency will come in the next few competitions,” said Janko Zwitter, head coach, Canadian Ski Jumping Team.  

Known as a big hill jumper, Loutitt – a winner of eight World Cup podiums in addition to her senior and junior World Championship titles – flew to distances of 126.5 and 123 in her two flights off the large Norwegian hill.

Landing on her heels in ninth was Olympic medal-winning teammate and Calgary-based friend, Abigail Strate.

The colourful 23-year-old, who rattled off three podium finishes on the World Cup last season, posted a total of 211.7 points in her two leaps on the HS 140 hill.

“I’m very satisfied with how today went. I was a little unsure after the training jumps and the qualification because I just couldn’t seem to get the right feeling on the hill, but I put it together at the right time,” said Strate, who qualified 14th.

Strate put down her two best jumps of the day when it counted most, covering distances of 125.5 and 121.5 metres in her two heats.

“I’m very happy to have my two best jumps in the competition. I did what the coaches wanted me to do,” added Strate, who put additional focus in her summer training on working on her landings. “I had no doubt on the landings today. It worked right away. It feels natural and the way it is supposed to be. It was fun to be back jumping on snow.

“Definitely lots still to fix and it is a long season, but this is by far the most confidence I’ve had for the first competition.”

Slovenia’s Nika Prevc landed on the gold medal step of the women’s podium with 269.9 points. Two German athletes snagged the final spots on the podium. Katharina Schmid was second at 247.6, while Selina Freitag secured the bronze medal with a total score of 244.4.

Calgary’s Nicole Maurer also bagged some FIS points for finishing in the elite group of 30. The 24-year-old Maurer placed 26th with 151.8 points. Maurer posted distances of 108.5 and 104.5 metres in her two jumps.

Ski jumping 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. 

“This is a great start to the season with all three girls scoring points, and all of them have potential to further improve in the next competition tomorrow,” said coach Zwitter. “We are looking forward to it, the team spirit is strong, and we are in a very good physical shape.”

Canada’s trio of women’s ski jumpers, who have protected their training environment and high-performance journey while centralizing at the temple of ski jumping in Planica, Slovenia, will be back at the top of the large hill in Lillehammer, Norway on Sunday.

Complete Women’s World Cup Results (Large Hill) – Lillehammer, Norway

Ski Jumping Canada is the governing federation for ski jumping in Canada. It is responsible for the governance of all ski jumping competitons in Canada and for the operation of the national team. For more information, please visit skijumpingcanada.com.