WHISTLER, BC (March 1, 2009) – Brenley Nella (Toronto, ON) has started a winning streak, taking today’s Pontiac GMC Canadian J1 Championship ladies giant slalom in Whistler, BC.
Nella, the 17-year-old winner of yesterday’s ladies super combined (she also had the fastest time in the super-G opening run), finished today in a two-run combined time of two minutes 16.87 seconds.
“In the morning I didn’t handle the rollers very well. I got too much air over a couple of them and had to struggle into the next turn. In the afternoon, I made sure I was really focused on getting the rollers under control instead of letting them control me,” said Nella, who is from the Georgian Peaks Club ski racer.
Nella, who was sitting second after the opening run, was joined on the podium today by Sarah Elliot, (Big White Racers Ski Club/Oyama, BC) and Gillian Chisholm (Toronto, ON). Chisholm, also from Georgian Peaks, finished in a time of 2:18.82.
Elliot, who was 11th after the opening run, charged to win the second run, moving all the way up to second place overall in a two-run time of 2:18.37. This is an important race for Elliot who is returning after a lengthy hiatus following knee surgery. Still sporting a conspicuous knee brace, she said "it’s exciting to finally be back! The knee feels great and I hardly notice the brace when I’m skiing." When asked about her expectations today, Elliot added "I had no expectations coming into this race. I missed a whole season, so all I wanted to do was see where I am in relation to everyone else. You feel good, but you don’t know for sure. I’m happy to see I can still be on the podium after so much time away. When it comes to recovery, I can tell you ‘patience’ is the key word. You do what the doctor says and you don’t try to come back too soon."
Volunteers worked overtime getting the course prepared after several inches of snow fell in the Whistler area overnight. Today’s first run was also delayed because of fog.
“I really didn’t know if they were going to pull it off this morning because of all the snow that fell overnight. I was looking forward to today because GS does challenge me, especially on this hill which is very technical. I decided to keep a positive attitude and hope for a good race. The course workers did an amazing job,” said Nella, today’s winner, whose older brother Tyler is a member of Canada’s national development team.
The schedule, which has been shifted because increasing levels of snowfall are anticipated over the next few days, calls for both men’s and ladies slalom tomorrow.
Women’s GS Top-15
1 5 NELLA Brenley 1992 CAN 1:08.36 1:08.51 2:16.87
2 30 ELLIOT Sarah 1992 CAN 1:10.50 1:07.87 2:18.37
3 16 CHISHOLM Gillian 1993 CAN 1:09.75 1:09.07 2:18.82
4 12 MICHALIK Victoria 1993 CAN 1:09.83 1:09.46 2:19.29
5 2 MCLEISH Madison 1992 CAN 1:09.93 1:09.84 2:19.77
6 9 RAMSDEN Jocelyn 1993 CAN 1:09.82 1:10.04 2:19.86
7 4 FREEMAN Sarah 1992 CAN 1:10.33 1:10.32 2:20.65
8 3 RITCHIE Brodie 1992 CAN 1:10.73 1:10.00 2:20.73
9 21 FARROW Katie 1993 CAN 1:10.59 1:10.21 2:20.80
10 20 GRANT Jane 1992 CAN 1:11.51 1:09.94 2:21.45
11 17 RYTZ Celine 1992 CAN 1:11.24 1:10.57 2:21.81
12 62 PATTERSON Mackenzie 1993 CAN 1:11.77 1:10.30 2:22.07
13 7 BARRETT Christine 1992 CAN 1:11.03 1:11.50 2:22.53
14 33 SCHUR Hailey 1993 USA 1:12.22 1:10.52 2:22.74
15 38 MOE-LANGE Yina 1993 DAN 1:12.95 1:09.96 2:22.91