Featured Image: Allison Mollin at the Medal Ceremony. Credit: Fabrice Gallina
The 44th Junior World Alpine Ski Championships competition began today, February 27th, with a unique two-run downhill event. Because of challenging conditions and excessive snow buildup at the top of the course, the starting point was adjusted to a lower elevation. This “sprint-like” downhill allowed both the men and women to tackle the course twice.
Over 350 of the world’s top young skiers from 60 nations came together for this esteemed event in Tarvisio, Italy, battling for a spot on the leaderboard. In the downhill, the fields were smaller, with 39 women and 53 men competing.
Stefanie Grob of Switzerland and Felix Roesle of Germany concluded the day with triumphant combined times. However, it was a fight with the top two athletes on both the men’s and women’s sides being strikingly close to each other.
Grob narrowly defeated her fellow Swiss competitor, Jasmine Mathis, by just one hundredth of a second. Garance Meyer of France finished third, +0.29 behind Grob’s pace.
On the men’s side, Philipp Kaelin from Switzerland was close behind Roesle, finishing only two hundredths of a second later. Austrian Matthias Fernsebner rounded out the podium +0.14 off the lead.
These podium finishes show that the athletes had to give it their all on the exciting track.
Impressively, at age 20, Grob has already won her sixth medal at a Junior World Ski Championships.
Mollin and Salani: Top North Americans
Stifel US Ski Team athletes Allison Mollin and Hunter Salani finished the day as the top North Americans.
Allison Mollin concluded the day with an impressive 6th-place result, +0.87 off the lead. However, after winning super-G and downhill NorAm titles and debuting on the World Cup circuit, Mollin was hoping to accomplish a top-3 finish. She expressed in an interview at the opening ceremonies, “I would like to get a podium in the downhill.”
Nevertheless, tomorrow, Mollin will get another chance to move onto the podium in the super-G event.
Salani’s last downhill races were raced at the NorAm event in Kimberley, BC, Canada, where he achieved two 4th-place results. The former Ski and Snowboard Club Vail athlete finished the day in 8th place, 9 tenths off of Roesle’s lead.
Other North Americans Racing into the Top 15
Besides Mollin’s strong finish, three other North American women cracked the top 15 in the downhill. Zoe Gray of the Alberta Alpine Women’s Team threw down two solid runs to conclude the day in 10th place.
Gray gained confidence in the discipline with her first downhill NorAm podium in Kimberley, BC, Canada.
Racing into 11th place was Annika Hunt of Burke Mountain Academy, and in 15th was Canadian Estelle Martin.
Two athletes battled their way into the top 15 on the men’s side. Mattias Wilson of the Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club finished +1.13 off the fastest time, earning 10th place. Jeremy Nolting of Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club skied into 14th position.
Tomorrow, February 28th, the women will take to the slopes for the super-G and Team Combined events. The men will resume their competitions in March with those same two races.
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
