Alex Loutitt Celebrates Bronze Medal Winning Weekend at World Cup in Lake Placid
LAKE PLACID, NY—Canada’s Alex Loutitt landed on the World Cup podium for the second time this season, taking the bronze in Lake Placid, New York.
Waiting out Mother Nature’s high winds Friday afternoon that forced a nine-hour delay, Calgary’s ski jumping ace finally had an opportunity to take flight in Lake Placid for the first time ever on the World Cup where she leaped to third place with a total score of 273.2.
“I had so much fun jumping here with lots of family and friends around,” said Loutitt, who qualified in fourth spot with the top-40. “It is such a fun hill Lake Placid. It’s a tricky one, but when you get it right, it’s a fun one.”
The women’s field was delayed by the jury after 13 of 40 qualifiers completed their first jump on the large hill
Loutitt was sitting in second spot after her first attempt after covering 125.5 metres and racking up 147.3 points. She held onto the final spot on the podium despite droppig one spot in the standings after the second heat.
Slovenia’s Nika Prevc took women’s gold under the Friday night lights with a total score of 295.7 points. Norway’s Eirin Kvandal was second at 283.6.
Little time to rest, Loutitt built on her podium flight Saturday morning where she qualified in third spot for the back-half of the large-hill double-header.
Canada’s top leaper snagged the final spot in the top-10 Saturday with 239.8 points.
Slovenia’s Nika Prevc won the gold medal with 272.1 points.
Canada’s Abigail Strate, who recently graduated from graphic design at the Toronto Film School in December, is rounding into form with the World Championships around the corner.
The 23-year-old Strate bettered her 14th place finish Friday with a 12th-place result on Saturday afternoon. Strate (Calgary) climbed three spots in the standings after her second jump while racking up a total of 224.9 points.
Calgary’s Nicole Maurer finished just outside the top-20 with 189.3 points, taking 21st spot.
A model of resiliency on and off the field of play throughout their young careers, the three colourful Calgarians had been on a stellar run heading into the pre-Olympic season, flying to historic results and personal best performances including a combined 10 podium finishes last season alone. Living and training in Slovenia since their Olympic medal triumph in 2022, the Canucks enjoyed a rare event on North American snow.
The host venue of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid had not hosted a World Cup ski jumping event since 1991. The men made a successful return in 2023 before Lake Placid welcomed the world’s best female jumpers this week.
Complete Women’s World Cup Results (Large Hill) – Lake Placid, NY
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.
