Canadian Ski Jumper Abigail Strate Soars to First World Cup Ski Jumping Medal of Season
HINZENBACH, Aut.—Canada’s Abigail Strate landed on her first World Cup ski jumping podium of the season, capturing the bronze medal in Hinzenbach, Austria on Sunday.
“It feels really good. I wasn’t trying to expect anything but being in third afer the first round, I haven’t been in that position this year, so it was a bit stressful,” said Strate. “Today, I decided I was going to go for it. It either works or it doesn’t. In a top sport like this the margin is so small you can’t be half in.
“I have been playing it safe this year, but I reached the point where I said ‘we are doing it. I know I can do it.’ I proved that to myself in training and qualis this weekend.”
One day removed from celebrating her 24th birthday, the spunky Calgarian did it, scoring 226.6 points over her two jumps, covering distances of 86.5 and 87.5 metres on the normal size hill.
Sitting in third place at the midway point of the competition, the nerves ramped up as the Canuck clicked in her skis at the top of the HS 90 jump, searching for a consistent flight while staring down an opportunity for her first podium of the season.
“Not going to lie. I put stress releaving oils on my gloves and took a sniff to calm things down at the top of the hill. I must have looked silly, but it worked,” laughed Strate.
Known as the “Bee” in the ski jumping world, the certified Canadian bee keeper also took a quick glimpse at a lucky bee sticker she has placed on her right ski to remind her to relax and smile as she regularly does in the most intense of competitions. The peek at her right ski helped Strate dial in a podium flight.
“Every time I put my skis on, I look at that little bee on my ski and it makes me smile. I definitely did that today. I could feel my heart beating so fast and that quick look just made me smile, kept me grounded in the moment and reminded me what is real and what is important,” said Strate, who is also an artist and creative at heart, graduating from Graphic Design on-line at Toronto Film School in Canada while training and competing in Europe.
Slovenia’s Nika Prevc won the gold with 244.0 points. Germany’s Selina Freitag was second at 241.5 points.
Strate, who was part of Canada’s historic Olympic bronze-medal winning ski jumping team, made her World Cup debut during the 2016-17 season at 15 years old. She enjoyed a career-best season in 2022-23 where she consistently placed in the top-10 on the World Cup which included her first podium, taking the bronze medal in Hinterzarten, Germany. One year ago she bettered that performance with a sizzling run where she rattled off three straight podiums – two bronze and a silver – on the World Cup. She added one more silver in a team event with Alex Loutitt before calling it a season.
Strate has struggled to find that top form earlier this year following an early-season crash in training.
“I don’t think one realizes the mental impacts of the crashes. I became a little too conscious of what I was doing, going 100 kilometres off a ramp into the air, but I have put work into that and I now feel more strong and confident,” added Strate.
“It is hard to convince yourself to ‘let it go’ when you are trying so hard to focus. In my head I felt the podium may have been out of the question this year, but I also felt I had nothing to lose and wanted to end the season on a high. I got to a point where I was like ‘now or ever.’”
Strate had been tracking in the right direction with three top-15 finishes including: 14th in Zao, 12th in Lake Placid, and eighth Saturday in Hinzenbach after qualifying second overall for just the second time in her career.
“I’ve never had this trend where I started out slow and got better all year. This is exactly where I want to be picking up, just before World Championships,” said Strate. “I am really happy with the podium today. It is going to give me a big boost heading into World Championships. Everyone in sport dreams of medals, and I have allowed myself to dream once again, but I am really focused on just having good jumps.”
Nicole Maurer – the only other Canadian in the field this weekend – has also been tracking closer to the podium mix. The 23-year-old has topped a career best finish in each of her last three events. Calgary’s Maurer was 16th on Saturday in Austria, totaling 187.3 points.
Alexandria Loutitt, who was not competing this weekend in preparation of defending her World Championship title, also has two podiums this year including one victory.
Team Canada will now head to Trondheim, Norway for the World Championships that begin February 27.
“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.
