Stefanie Fleckenstein
FIS Junior World Championships – Women's Downhill Results
FIS Junior World Championships – Men's Downhill Results
Valerie Grenier
The 2016 World Junior Championships kicked off today at the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Rosa Khotur resort, in Sochi, Russia. The Ladies and mens Downhill race was run on the Olympic track under blue-bird sky and firm racing surface, a dramatic change from 2 days ago when the 1st DH training run was cancelled due to steady rain and fog on the course.
BC is well represented at these Championships, with Canadian National Team members Brodie Seger and Jack Crawford being joined by BCST member Stefanie Fleckenstein. Calgary’s Jeffrey Read is also representing Canada, while Mt Tremblant’s Valerie Grenier, Wakefield Quebec’s Mikayla Tommy and current Youth Olympic Games Slalom silver medalist, Toronto’s Ali Nullmeyer, round out the ladies team.
With a single training run under their belts, Valerie Grenier took full advantage of her World Cup DH experience (47th Cortina d’Ampezzo, 43rd Lake Louise) to claim the World Junior Championships by 7/100ths of a second over Switzerland’s Beatrice Scalvedi. Italy’s Nicol Delago claimed the bronze medal, .31 secs off of the pace. Stefanie Fleckenstein posted a solid 20th place in her first DH race from start number 45, +1.91secs back. Her time was the second fastest among 1997 birth year athletes, behind Italy’s Laura Pirovano.
After the race, Fleckenstein commented: “I’m really honoured and excited to be representing Canada this week in Sochi. Valerie’s win is the perfect start for our team here in Sochi. I was able to complete my first downhill race and put down a solid time, which gives me a lot of confidence heading into the super-G and alpine combined races that will be run on this same track. We have an amazing team here and everyone from coaches to technicians to athletes are really pumped up after Valerie’s win in the DH.”
Although the race was Fleckenstein’s first in the DH discipline, the BCST, with coach Ryan Jasic, has trained the speed events in the pre-season at Portillo, Chile and Stelio, Italy.
On the men’s side, both Brodie Seger and Jack Crawford put down strong runs, but a few small mistakes cost some precious speed coming on to the finish flats. Seger was top Canadian in 13th spot, +0.96 seconds behind winner Erik Arvidsson of the USA. Crawford finished 14th, a further 3/100th of a second back of Seger.
Read World Juniors Update: Bulletproof
The racing continues tomorrow with the men’s super-G, followed by the ladies' super-G the next day.