Hurt closes out world juniors with bronze

U.S. Ski Team member AJ Hurt won slalom bronze at FIS Alpine World Junior Ski Championships in Bansko, Bulgaria on Wednesday, becoming the first American woman to podium in slalom since teammate Paula Moltzan won in 2015.

Hurt showcased solid skiing that would lead teammate Zoe Zimmermann into sixth place, just 0.51 behind the top pace in her debut world junior race. Italy’s Sophie Mathiou won gold, Sweden’s Moa Bostroem Mussener grabbed silver, and Hurt rounded out the podium with bronze, just one-hundredth out of second place. 

Zimmermann had a solid day of racing through tough visibility in the first run. The slalom specialist did not race the previous super G and GS races, keeping her focus on slalom. When pushing out of the start on run 1, half the course was engulfed in thick fog that made only a few gates visible ahead. Zimmermann laid down a solid run, finishing sixth, just 0.35 behind teammate Hurt, sitting in second. 

Second run conditions held strong, and ladies starting in the later start positions were having the fastest runs of the day. Zimmermann quickly made a mistake at the first hairpin just three gates out of the start, and was quick to recover back on her line. She brought back consistency, pole plants, and solid momentum moving down the rhythmical course set. Zimmermann crossed the finish slightly off the mark for the fastest time, finishing sixth. 

“I was really looking forward to the slalom race this year since it was canceled last year due to COVID,” said Zimmermann. “I definitely felt a bit of pressure only starting one event in Bansko, but I perform better when I’m nervous, so it worked out in my favor. Today you really had to attack to be fast. I’m super happy with my performance and even happier to share a great day with my teammate, AJ.”

Hurt, who won silver in the team event at 2019 World Junior Ski Championships in Val di Fassa, Italy, and has scored World Cup points in four disciplines this season, was a favorite in the super G and giant slalom. Hurt had early mistakes in the super G that set her back into 18th, and did not finish the GS.

As a 20-year-old, the slalom was Hurt’s final career World Junior Championships start. 

Coming into the day, Hurt was ready to take the pressure off and enjoy her final world junior race. Starting Bib 3, visibility was clear and two small mistakes were met with strong skiing that left her in second place. In the second run, Hurt had a similar solid top section through the hairpin that caused her teammates trouble, and kept moving down the hill and through the finish to end in third. 

“At the beginning of world juniors, I expected more from the super G and GS, but wasn’t able to ski the way I would have liked,” said Hurt after her slalom podium. “I came into today with lower expectations and just wanted to enjoy my last-ever race at world juniors. I think taking that pressure off of myself allowed me to ski more like myself and I was able to finally pull through with a medal.” 

American teammates Nicola Rountree-Williams and Allie Resnick did not finish the slalom. Resnick was in 15th position after the first run and had trouble in the opening hairpin. While she recovered, she fell onto her inside ski in the middle of the course and was not able to make the next gate. Rountree-Williams skied out early in her first run. 

The Americans ended up tied for sixth with Germany in the chase for the Marc Holder Trophy, an award recognizing overall team performance throughout the junior world championships. Austria had six medals in six events and won the overall, followed by Italy in second, and Sweden in third. 

The women’s slalom concludes competition at world juniors in Bansko, Bulgaria. Hurt will travel to Are, Sweden for the final FIS Ski World Cup slalom and then to World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.