The men’s tech event capped the weeklong Junior Worlds in St. Anton. 

St. Anton, Austria, January 25, 2023 — On two challenging slalom courses down the steep World Cup pitch in St. Anton am Arlberg, 69 racers from a field of 129 didn’t finish the first run, with another 16 going out in the second run. 

In this last event of the 2023 FIS Junior World Ski Championships (JWSC), which attracted racers from 50 countries, Italian Corrado Barbera took gold, Adam Hofstedt from Sweden took silver (+.29), and Antine Azzolin of France finished with the bronze medal (+.38).

Palmquist

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For the U.S. men, Camden Palmquist (Stifel U.S. Alpine Team and Team Summit) cracked the top ten in the slalom today with a 9th-place finish (+1.37). It was the best finish for an American male over the weeklong championships. “I went into the run thinking I wanted to have a clean, fast solid run with smart skiing,” he said. “I’m happy with it.” Adding challenge, the morning’s course transitioned midway down from the full sun to full shade at the bottom. Heading for the finish, the course set featured a royal flush into a hairpin. “It was a lot of quick turns” Palmquist said. “You just had to have a good inspection and strategy coming into it—and quick feet.” 

Poulter

“Jay Poulter (Stifel US Alpine Team, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, and Stratton Mountain School) put down two super solid runs, finishing in 11th (+1.63). Poulter ran 10th in the second run, which was a good position given that temps were warming. “The track was getting grooved out, but when I went, it was pretty smooth,” he said. “I just let it go.” Tomorrow, Palmquist and Poulter head to Kronplatz, Italy, for FIS slalom and GS races.

Parazette

University of Utah racer Oliver Parazette landed in 17th (+2.06) for the day, despite losing momentum in the first run. “The track got a little slicker and as far as pulling off a tight arc, I didn’t really fully commit to it” he said. The two vertical combinations at the bottom? “That was good for me. I’m not great at flats. so the [combinations] put some tech into the course. For the second run, the sun warmed up the track, making it a little peelier, not as icy,” said Parazette, who’s flying home to Salt Lake City tomorrow to race at the University Games in Snowbird. “I’ll be jet lagged.” said the University of Utah racer

Joining a Long List of DNFs

Puckett

Cooper Puckett was sitting in sixth place finish after the first run. In the afternoon race, the Stifel US Alpine Team racer from Steamboat Springs was .72 seconds ahead of the leader at the first split, with only five more racers in the flip still to run. Lower down, Pucket ran into trouble and skied out. “It’s probably the best I’ve felt on a day. It was the right mindset. But it didn’t work out,” he said after his run. Next up for Puckett: he will head back to school in Hanover, N.H., to race carnivals for Dartmouth. 

The other two starters for the U.S., Justin Bigatel and Ryder Sarchett, DNF’d on their first runs. 

Junior Worlds, 2024 Edition

During the closing ceremonies of the 42nd Alpine Junior World Ski Championships, Helmut Mall, the president of St. Anton’s local ski club, and 1992 Olympic gold medalist Patrick Ortlieb of FIS handed over the FIS flag to Philippe Martin, who was representing France’s Haute-Savoie. The 2024 Junior World Ski Championships will be held in the Haute-Savoie region, spread across five resorts—Châtel, Morzine, Avoriaz, Les Gets, and Saint-Jean d’Aulps—with Portes du Soleil serving as the hub. 

For more on next year’s events (slated for January 27 to February 3, 2024), go to www.juniors2024.ski/