Canadian Ski Jumper Abigail Strate Flies to Season-Best Eighth at World Cup
HINZENBACH, Aut.—Canadian ski jumper, Abigail Strate, celebrated her 24th birthday with a season-best eighth-place finish at a World Cup stop in Hinzenbach, Austria.
A winner of four World Cup medals one year ago, Strate was on fire Saturday, winning both of the training rounds and finishing second in the qualification round before posting her second top-10 of the season in the competition with a total of 205.4 points.
“I was four out of five today, which is pretty high statistics for me, but I was really happy,” said Strate, whose only other top-10 this year was a ninth-place finish at the season-opener. “I was a little surprised after training. I took last weekend off to give my body and mind a break, and it clearly worked out.”
It was just the second time ever that Strate has finished second in a qualification round while taking on the top women’s leapers on the planet.
“That is a big confidence booster when you can have a strong qualifier. People can skip training rounds, but everyone needs to be in the qualifier if you want to compete so the whole field is there and it proves what you can do,” added the multi-talented Strate, who recently graduated from Graphic Design studies that she has been taking on-line with the Toronto Film School while living abroad.
The 2022 Olympic medallist struggled to find a medal-winning flight path in her first competition attempt, covering 81.5 metres on the normal hill, putting her in 14th spot. The Calgary-born adrenaline seeker scrapped her way back into contention with a solid final leap (91.0 metres), finishing 26 points out of the medals. 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. Jumps are scored on both distance and style.
“I am comfortable on this hill. It is quite small for World Cup hills, but I am comfortable here. It has a nice rhythm, it is smooth, and I feel in control and connected here,” added Strate. “It has been a hard season for me since last year. I tried not to have expectations for myself, but they were there so it has been a bit disappointing, but I started to gain momentum at the last competition in Zao where I was 14th, was 12th in Lake Placid and now eighth so things are heading in the right direction.”
The colourful Canuck also has three, fourth-place finishes in her career and finished sixth overall on the 2023 Summer Grand Prix with four top-six finishes.
Slovenia’s Nika Prevc landed on top of the podium in Hinzenbach with 248.4 points. Germany’s Selina Freitag racked up 240.5 points for the silver medal, while Austria’s Jacqueline Seifriedsberger claimed the bronze at 231.1 points.
It was a career-best day for the only other Canadian in the field. Nicole Maurer, who was 18th last week in Lake Placid, bettered that position by one in Austria. The aspiring 23-year-old astronaut rocketed into 17th spot with a total of 180.8 points.
The Canadians will be back on the normal sized hill tomorrow in Hinzenbach to round out the weekend’s competitions before heading to Trondheim, Norway for the World Championships next weekend.
“I’m excited for the whole experience. World Championships are a different environment – they mimic the Olympics in a way, so I am excited for that environment,” added Strate. “I haven’t gotten much time to jump on those hills, but that can be an advantage as well. I’m looking forward to it.”
Complete Women’s World Cup Results (Normal Hill) – Hinzenbach, Austria
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.
