BC Team’s Stefanie Fleckenstein heads to Sochi for World Junior Champs

Stef Fleck (WMSC/BCST) joins Team Canada at World Junior Championships

Eight junior Canadian athletes are heading to Sochi, Russia for the annual World Junior Championships (WJC), providing them a unique opportunity to compete on a global stage. Selected athletes between the ages of 16 and 21 will compete for Canada – an important milestone in their development for future World Cup and Olympic competition.

“The World Juniors are very important in the development of Canada’s young athletes,” says Dusan Grasic, Director of Domestic Sport at ACA. “Medals indicate athletes will be contenders on the World Cup tour. We’ve recently had great results from both the men and ladies on the NorAm circuit and we will be looking to see some podium finishes play out at the World Juniors.”

Stefanie Fleckenstein (BCST/WMSC) got the exciting news that she would be joining the Canadian woman at the World Junior Championships on a Friday evening, and by Sunday (her first day off in two weeks) she was on a flight to Europe to adjust to the time change and take advantage of a fantastic opportunity to train with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team ladies in Santa Caterina, Italy for a few days.

"Being on the World Juniors team has been a goal of mine all season and I am so excited that I was able to achieve that goal and I got the amazing bonus of getting to train with the national team for a week," said Fleckenstein. "My coach, Ryan Jazic, along with Nick Cooper and PL Dumoulin, has done a great job all year of preparing the BC Team for big competitions, so I feel ready to race."

Fleckenstein and her WJC teammate Valerie Grenier are now on their way to Sochi to prepare for the big event that gets underway on Saturday, February 27th. DH training starts tomorrow (Thursday in Sochi) at 9am, which is 10pm tonight (Wednesday) here in BC. Good luck Team Canada!!