Ladies' U16 Slalom (left to right) Elvedina Rija (3rd); Nikola Bubakova (1st); Catherine Dufresne (2nd)
WHISTLER, B.C. – Catherine Dufresne of Montreal and Team Canada kept the focus on her skiing rather than results, and she’ll return home with two medals, including a silver in the women’s slalom on Sunday, to conclude the Mackenzie Investments Whistler Cup. Dufresne roared back from fifth spot after the first run to finish 2nd in 1:23.88.
Nikola Bubakova of the Czech Republic collected her second gold of the competition clocking a two-run time of 1:22.95. Elvedina Muzaferija of Bosnia-Herzegovina took the bronze in 1:23.91.
‘’I was really happy to make a comeback on the second run which was a lot tougher than first one,’’ said Dufresne. ‘’I gave all I had and it paid off.’’
Katie Fleckenstein of Whistler, Stephanie Profitt of Calgary and Kristina Natalenko of New Westminster, B.C., were fifth, sixth and seventh.
In the men’s giant slalom, Mikkel Solbakken of Norway completed a golden sweep of all three events clocking 1:50.09. His compatriot Lucas Braathen was second in 1:53.21 and Hiroto Hasebe of Japan third in 1:53.26.
‘’This is the best I’ve ever skied in my career,’’ said Solbakken, 15, also the super G and slalom winner this weekend. ‘’I was having a great season in Europe and it just continued here.’’
Justin Vittecoq of Montreal was fourth in 1:53.50 as Canadians grabbed the next eight positions.
‘’I missed all of last season with a broken collarbone so just being at the Whistler Cup this year is a big step for me,’’ said Vittecoq.
Norway placed first in the U16 Nations Cup standings with 235 points followed by Canada with 153 and Japan with 104.
The Whistler Cup also welcomed U14 athletes from around the world for the 2015 U14 International Festival. Over the three days they raced a dual slalom, a slalom and a giant slalom. In the end, the Team Japan was victorious in the points race, earning 127.5 points, followed by Team Chile in second with 103 points, and Team BC in third with 97.5 points.
Congratulations to the following recipients of the prestigious Nancy Greene and Dave Murray Awards, given out annually at the Whistler Cup:
U14 Nancy Greene Award (top performance by a Canadian female) – Daisy Taylor (Toronto Ski Club, Team Ontario)
U14 Dave Murray Award (top performance by a Canadian male) – Liam Applegath (Kamloops, Sun Peaks Alpine Club, Team BC)
U16 Nancy Greene Award (top performance by a Canadian female) – Catherine Dufresne (Montreal, Team Canada)
U16 Dave Murray Award (top performance by a Canadian male) – Kyle Alexander (North Vancouver, Whistler Mountain Ski Club, Team BC)
Catherine Dufresne punches her way to silver medal finish (Photo Credit: Coast Mountain Photography)
Women's Slalom (COMPLETE OFFICIAL RESULTS)
| Rank | Bib | Name | Team | Club | Result 1 | Result 2 | Combined |
| 1 | 12 |
BUBAKOVA Nikola
|
CZE
|
CZE
|
40.96 (1)
|
42.00 (1)
|
1:22.96
|
| 2 | 23 |
DUFRESNE Catherine
|
CAN
|
CAN
|
41.83 (5)
|
42.05 (2)
|
1:23.88
|
| 3 | 6 |
MUZAFERIJA Elvedina
|
BIH
|
BIH
|
41.57 (4)
|
42.34 (3)
|
1:23.91
|
| 4 | 20 |
NYBERG Martine Fosmo
|
NOR
|
NOR
|
42.39 (9)
|
42.63 (4)
|
1:25.02
|
| 5 | 2 |
FLECKENSTEIN Katie
|
CAN
|
CAN
|
42.07 (7)
|
43.15 (7)
|
1:25.22
|
| 6 | 29 |
PROFITT Stephanie
|
CAN2
|
CAN2
|
42.38 (8)
|
42.98 (6)
|
1:25.36
|
| 7 | 32 |
NATALENKO Kristina
|
CAN3
|
CAN3
|
43.00 (13)
|
42.87 (5)
|
1:25.87
|
| 8 | 7 |
KATAGIRI Asami
|
JPN
|
JPN
|
42.49 (10)
|
43.40 (11)
|
1:25.89
|
| 9 | 48 |
KATTLER Tia
|
AB
|
AB
|
42.75 (11)
|
43.40 (11)
|
1:26.15
|
| 10 | 17 |
OKOSHI Saya
|
JPN
|
JPN
|
43.08 (14)
|
43.33 (9)
|
1:26.41
|
Men's Giant Slalom (COMPLETE OFFICIAL RESULTS)
| Rank | Bib | Name | Team | Club | Class | Result 1 | Result 2 | Combined |
| 1 | 14 |
SOLBAKKEN Mikkel
|
NOR
|
NOR
|
|
53.27 (1)
|
56.82 (1)
|
1:50.09
|
| 2 | 20 |
BRAATHEN Lucas
|
NOR
|
NOR
|
|
54.63 (2)
|
58.58 (15)
|
1:53.21
|
| 3 | 10 |
HASEBE Hiroto
|
JPN
|
JPN
|
|
55.59 (6)
|
57.67 (3)
|
1:53.26
|
| 4 | 12 |
VITTECOQ Justin
|
CAN
|
CAN
|
|
54.73 (3)
|
58.77 (17)
|
1:53.50
|
| 5 | 48 |
WALLACE Liam
|
AB
|
AB
|
|
56.00 (9)
|
57.52 (2)
|
1:53.52
|
| 6 | 33 |
JORDAN Asher
|
CAN2
|
CAN2
|
|
55.29 (4)
|
58.38 (8)
|
1:53.67
|
| 7 | 47 |
WOOLLEY Kasper
|
BC
|
BC
|
|
56.02 (10)
|
58.01 (6)
|
1:54.03
|
| 8 | 28 |
CASSELMAN Jamie
|
CAN
|
CAN
|
|
55.77 (7)
|
58.39 (10)
|
1:54.16
|
| 9 | 43 |
WATSON Hunter
|
ON
|
ON
|
|
55.84 (8)
|
58.61 (16)
|
1:54.45
|
| 10 | 37 |
DONALD Gavin
|
CAN3
|
CAN3
|
|
56.86 (20)
|
57.72 (4)
|
1:54.58
|
Thank you to Whistler Cup official photographers Coast Mountain Photography for all the beautiful race day images HERE
To watch some of the amazing ViaSport live-streamed footage, check out the live-stream archives on your computer, tablet or mobile device www.viasport.ca/whistler-cup