JWC Speed Races in the Cradle of SkiingĀ 

By Published On: January 19th, 2023Comments Off on JWC Speed Races in the Cradle of SkiingĀ 

World junior Championships Opening ceremony: Photo Credit Helen Olsson

The fastest junior racers on the planet battled low light and a bumpy downhill track on the first day of the 2023 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships.Ā 

St. Anton, Austria, Jan. 19, 2023 ā€” The womenā€™s downhill race at the 2023 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships, the weeklong eventā€™s first competition, started inauspiciously today when 20-year-old Ine Haugland of Norway, wearing Bib 1, spun around and crashed into the B nets on the lower part of the St. Antonā€™s Karl-Schranz course. Dramatically a helicopter airlifted the racer from the mountain. After a 30-minute delay, the race resumed. At press time, Hauglandā€™s status was unknown. 

Lowered Start

Due to windblown snow in the upper part of the course, race officials shortened the downhill course this morning, moving the start down to the reserve start (where the Super G will start tomorrow). The new start took about 15 seconds off the length of the course, compared with the training runs from the previous two days. 

Junior World Team USA Opening ceremony St Anton, Austria Photo Credit Helen Olsson

Women’s race

Switzerlandā€™s Stephanie Grob took gold with a slim three-hundredths margin over silver medalist Vicky Bernardi of Italy. Pernille Dyrstad Lydersen of Norway took the bronze (+.35). Two Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team (USST) members raced in the womenā€™s downhill.  Ava Sunshine, who has trained with Burke Mountain Academy, was the top U.S. racer, finishing 8th (+.76), while Lauren Macuga, who trains out of Park City, landed in 10th place (+1.07). 

Macuga raced on the track five days ago during the World Cup Super G in St. Anton. ā€œThe bottom part was really rattly, and I got pushed low,ā€ she said after her run.  Having to wait for a lengthy course hold due to injury? ā€œIt’s tough mentally. ā€œYou already know it’s a dangerous sport, and then seeing that someone is being airlifted outā€¦thatā€™s hard.ā€

This is the second Junior Worlds for Sunshine (whose full name is Eva Sunshine Jemison, but who races under her two given names). ā€œIā€™m still working on my downhill,ā€ she said. (Although she did snag a 4th place finish on the second training day.) ā€œI skied the top pretty well but made a couple of tactical errors at the bottom where it was much bumpier than in training,ā€ Sunshine said after her race run.

Stifel US Alpine Team members Ava Sunshine and Lauren Macuga Photo Helen Olsson

Competition aside, Macuga and Sunshine are soaking up the atmosphere of this international event. ā€œYou hop on the lift, and it could be with a racer from any country,ā€ Macuga said. ā€œLast night, we sat down at dinner with Sweden. Itā€™s fun to meet everyone.ā€ 

Men’s race

In the menā€™s downhill race, held in the afternoon at St. Anton, Slovenian Aznoh Rok took the top of the podium, France’s Alban Elezi Cannaferina (+.50) took silver, and Switzerland’s Livio Hiltbrand (+.82) took bronze. Five American men raced the downhill. Cooper Puckett (+1.55) was the top finisher, coming in 17th. Hailing from Steamboat Springs, Puckett races for both the USST and Dartmouth. ā€œI think it was pretty clean skiing, but that last mistake on the bottom cost me,ā€ said Puckett, who is at the Junior Worlds for his third time. ā€œI wasnā€™t going to race the downhillā€”I was just training it to get up to speed for the Super G,ā€ Puckett said. ā€œBut then I won one of the splits yesterdayā€”and I smelled some blood.ā€ 

SANKT ANTON, AUSTRIA,18.JAN.23 – FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships, Cooper Puckett (USA). Photo: GEPA pictures/ Oliver Lerch

Other finishes for the U.S.: Jay Poulter came in 28th (+2.21); Finnigan Donley took 29th (+2.26); Justin Bigatel, 35th (+2.98), and Hunter Salani, 38th (+3.20). 

Despite a dusting of fresh snow, the surface stayed nice and hard. However, low light made the downhill additionally challenging for the racers. ā€œIt was pretty bumpy, and you couldnā€™t really see the bumpsā€”the light was really flat,ā€ said Hunter Salani, a 17-year-old racer with Vail Ski & Snowboard Club whoā€™s at Junior Worlds for the first time.

Bigatel, a Park City-based USST athlete who trained at Burke Mountain, is also at Junior Worlds for the first time. ā€œIā€™m just happy to be here and trying to enjoy the moment,ā€ he said. ā€œAll the teams have dinner together, and the vibes are good.ā€ 

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About the Author: Helen Olsson

A former ski racer and ski instructor, Helen Olsson is the editor-in-chief of Peak magazine, a luxury lifestyle magazine covering the western U.S. She is a former editor of Epic Life, Skiing, and Outdoor Retailerā€™s The Daily and the author of The Down & Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids. Her stories have appeared in Ski magazine, Elevation Outdoors, pbs.org, Aspen Magazine, and the New York Times. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.