Canadian Championships Ladies DH Podium – 1 JANYK Britt; 2 FREEMAN Sarah; 3 STEVENS Victoria; 4 GAGNON Marie-Michele; 5 VALLERAN Laurence
NAKISKA, ALTA. (March 26, 2011) – Britt Janyk picked up her 14th national title by winning the ladies’ downhill at the GMC Canadian Championships on Saturday, while there was a first victory for Kelby Halbert in the men’s race.
Janyk, of Whistler, B.C., received an ovation from the young racers gathered in the finish area as she completed a fast run of 59.41 seconds.
“It feels pretty good,” said Janyk, 30. “It’s obviously nice to come away with a win and to be here racing in Canada and enjoying the whole atmosphere.
“I don’t know a lot of the young girls but they know me and watch me race. It’s nice to know that they look up to me a little bit. I want to be here to give back to the sport and the program.”
Sarah Freeman (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) picked up her first podium at the GMC Canadian Championships by sealing second place with a time of 1:00.30. Freeman was also took top spot on the Junior Podium.
“It’s pretty cool. I was hoping for a podium – that was my goal,” said Freeman, 18, a member of the B.C. Ski Team. “At the bottom I caught an edge. My leg went away from me and I honestly thought I was going to slide through the finish line. I thought I’d blown it.”
Freeman shared more than the podium with one of her childhood idols Saturday; she raced with Janyk’s poles!
“Mine broke and I was borrowing from the guys on my team,” said Freeman, “but those were way too long for me and all I wanted was some poles that fit. I talked to Britt’s tech and they lent me some of her brand new poles!”
Victoria Stevens, 21, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was third in a time of 1:00.40.
“I’m really happy with the result,” said Stevens, a member of the Prospect Group. “It’s really cool that Britt is here. I got the chance to train with her a bit over the summer.”
On the men’s side, Halbert won in a time of 57.56 seconds. But the six-foot-eight skier from Bradford, Ont., wasn’t sure he’d done enough when he got to the bottom of the hill.
“I caught an edge on the landing after the jump and barely made the gate. I’m pretty happy it worked out,” said Halbert, 21. “The last two years I’ve been second, so it feels great.”
Tyler Nella, of Toronto, Ont., finished second in 57.97 seconds.
“It’s definitely a good way to end the year,” said Nella. “I think I just made less mistakes than everyone else and by that, I mean really little mistakes.”
BC Ski Team’s Tyler Werry (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) was the fastest Junior in the men’s race Saturday.
Top Juniors in Canadian Championships Downhill – Tyler Werry and Sarah Freeman, both BC Ski Team athletes from Fernie Alpine Ski Team
Canadian Championships Ladies’ Downhill (COMPLETE RESULTS)
1 15 JANYK Britt CAN WHIST SR 59.41
2 8 FREEMAN Sarah CAN FERNI J2 01:00.3 (FIRST JUNIOR)
3 14 STEVENS Victoria CAN EQSQA SR 01:00.4
4 13 GAGNON Marie-Michele CAN TREMB SR 01:00.6
5 21 VALLERAND Laurence CAN EQSQA J2 01:00.7 (SECOND JUNIOR)
6 9 PREFONTAINE Marie-Pier CAN CHANT SR 01:01.0
7 45 MIELZYNSKI Erin CAN GEORG SR 01:01.2
8 16 IRWIN Stephanie CAN BANFF SR 01:01.2
9 10 CLARKE Devon CAN CRAIG J1 01:01.2 (THIRD JUNIOR)
10 12 ROTH Julia CAN DEVGL J2 01:01.2
11 17 DAVIES Tess CAN BANFF J2 01:01.5
12 19 IRWIN Madison CAN CRAIG J2 01:01.5
13 1 PAQUIN-RICARD Claudia CAN EDLS J2 01:01.9
14 18 MICHALIK Victoria CAN BANFF J2 01:02.2
15 27 LAMOUREUX Emilie CAN EQSQA J2 01:02.3
Other BC Results:
19 24 DARLINGTON Kailee CAN WHIST J1 01:02.7
20 7 RYTZ Celine CAN FERNI J2 01:02.7
23 48 ELLIOT Sarah CAN BIGWH J2 01:02.9
26 33 LEROUX Sofi CAN WHIST J1 01:03.1
27 6 RAMSDEN Jocelyn CAN WHIST J2 01:03.3
28 29 FIELD Charley CAN WHIST J1 01:03.4
39 41 TAYLOR Moira CAN FAST J2 01:05.1
42 37 DURWARD Elizabeth CAN MTWAS J2 01:05.9
46 40 SPEARIN Cassandra CAN VERNO J2 01:06.8
47 39 TRIVANOVIC Una CAN REDMT J2 01:07.5
25 COWBURN Danielle CAN SPAC J1 DNF
Canadian Championships Men’s Downhill (COMPLETE RESULTS)
1 14 HALBERT Kelby CAN TSCBM SR 57.56
2 15 NELLA Tyler CAN GEORG SR 57.97
3 8 FRANK Chris USA SR 58.04
4 10 HUDEC Jan CAN BANFF SR 58.07
5 12 THOMSEN Benjamin CAN WINDR SR 58.08
6 11 COOK Dustin CAN MARIE SR 58.19
7 7 SANDVIK Eian NOR SR 58.35
8 20 WERRY Tyler CAN FERNI J2 58.4 (FIRST JUNIOR)
9 3 TOUTANT Simon-Claude CAN EQSQA J2 58.5 (SECOND JUNIOR)
10 4 BROWN Philip CAN ASA J2 58.53 (THIRD JUNIOR)
11 9 PRIDY Conrad CAN WHIST SR 58.64
12 17 ZAITSOFF Sasha CAN REDMT SR 58.66
13 13 SWENSSON Joe USA SR 58.66
14 19 FRISCH Jeffrey CAN TREMB SR 58.91
15 2 BELL Jeffrey CAN CARC J2 58.99
Other BC Results:
18 6 PRIDY Morgan CAN WHIST SR 59.3
22 5 LEDUC Mathieu CAN MTWAS SR 59.59
32 41 THOMPSON Broderick CAN WHIST J1 01:00.6
43 33 FRY Steven CAN REDMT J2 01:01.3
54 59 SEGER Brodie CAN WHIST J1 01:01.9
56 54 CARRY Roger CAN FERNI J2 01:02.0
64 57 SWETTE Ford CAN WHIST J2 01:02.8
68 67 RAMSDEN Blake CAN WHIST J1 01:03.0
69 65 LLEWELLYN Austin CAN GROUS J1 01:03.2
72 77 GRASIC Martin CAN WINDR J1 01:03.7
73 61 COOKSON Bryan CAN VERNO J1 01:04.1
Schedule:
National Championship DH Nakiska, Alberta Saturday 3/26/2011 DH F
National Championship DH Nakiska, Alberta Saturday 3/26/2011 DH M
National Championship SC Nakiska, Alberta Sunday 3/27/2011 SC F
National Championship SG Nakiska, Alberta Sunday 3/27/2011 SG M
National Championship SG Nakiska, Alberta Monday 3/28/2011 SG F
National Championship SC Nakiska, Alberta Monday 3/28/2011 SC M
National Championship GS Nakiska, Alberta Tuesday 3/29/2011 SG M
National Championship GS Nakiska, Alberta Wednesday 3/30/2011 SG F
National Championship SL Nakiska, Alberta Thursday 3/31/2011 SL F
National Championship SL Nakiska, Alberta Thursday 3/31/2011 SL M