Crawford grabs super-G silver at World Juniors in Sochi; Seger comes 12th

Another strong showing from Team Canada at World Junior Championships in Sochi, Russia. The men raced their previously postponed race at 9am local time, on a firm course that froze overnight. Jack Crawford (WMSC/National Development Team) took full advantage of bib #1 to attack the smooth, fast course set on the downhill track, finishing just 37/100ths of a second off of race winner Matthieu Baillet from France, starting with bib #2. The bronze medal was won by Marco Odermatt of Switzerland, 0.53 secs off of the pace in the 74-strong racer field.

Crawford said “starting bib #1 is always a tough place to be, as you have the entire amazing field of athletes to wait for to see if your time is good enough. Before the start I was concentrating on my recent Nor-Am super-G results (win in Lake Placid, NY), which were a confidence builder, and I was thinking about skiing fast and having fun. It is so great to be in Sochi, Russia. The organizers are putting on an amazing event and the venue is spectacular. There is a lot more racing to come and I hope that my results will continue, as I hope that my Team Canada teammates will reach their potential. I’d also like to thank the coaching staff, who have done an excellent job of preparing me for these races, and the whole staff at Alpine Canada Alpin.”

Brodie Seger (WMSC/National Development Team) also posted a strong showing, finishing 1 second back in 12^th spot. Seger noted “the conditions since we arrived in Sochi have been tough, with dramatic temperature swings and a couple of days of rain and fog softening up the piste. The event has been a lot of fun even though I personally have not found the results that I was striving for. A couple of crucial mistakes have cost me precious tenths of a second, but my confidence is still high because me teammates have been achieving strong results. It was pretty special listening to the Canadian anthem as Valerie (Grenier) stood on the top step of the podium the other night. It was a special moment that we as a team want to repeat again soon.”

BCST’s Stefanie Fleckenstein’s race came to an early end midway down the course when she missed a gate. “Obviously that was not the result that I was striving for," Fleckenstein noted. "I caught an edge coming into the middle section and missed the next gate. The experience so far has been awesome and the vibe on Team Canada is fantastic as my teammates have been on the podium. There is lots more racing on the schedule and I’m going to take what I learned today and go forward with a positive attitude.”

The World Junior Championships continue tomorrow with the men’s and ladies Alpine Combined, which has the racers doing a run of super-G combined with a one-run slalom race to determine the winner based on total time. It's a test of all-around racing, as the speed skiers tackle the slalom course and the slalom skiers try their hand at the high speeds of the SG course.

Women's World Juniors Super-G Results

Men's World Juniors Super-G Results