THE START OF THE penultimate competition at the FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships was a wet one. 53 out of 94 athletes made it across the finish line in the first run, and the athletes wearing bib numbers one, two, and three were all on the podium in the ladies’ Slalom.
The rain came in just in time for the start of the ladies’ Slalom, the final race for the women in the FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships in Åre. The course was tough for many of the athletes and 38 athletes who did not finish the first run.
"It was difficult because of the snow, but the course was good. It was still a good race” said Camille Rast, Switzerland, wearing bib number three.
First out in the competition was Ali Nullmeyer, Canada. She finished in fourth place in the first run, behind Riikka Honkanen, Finland, who was only 28-hundredths behind the leader, Chiara Mair from Austria. As it stopped raining and the temperatures dropped the course was easier to handle.
”In the first run I started third and in the second run I had start number 29, so that was easier. I had to ski fast, I did it and I don’t even understand how it happened,” said Rast.
What happened was that she was fast, really fast. She was in second place after the first run and managed to push ahead in the second, giving her the gold medal, Switzerland's second one of the day.
"We have a good team but we have finished in fourth place twice and now we have two gold medals, first Loïc (Meillard) took one and now I did it, it’s fantastic.”
Chiara Mair still had a good second run but didn’t manage to push ahead of Rast. Instead Ali Nullmeyer had a really good second run and finished in second place. Mair ended in third, taking her second medal in the Juniors. Meta Hrovat, Slovenia, was fourth and Riikka Honkanen came fifth.
Yasmin Cooper was the only one of the British girls to finish the slalom placing 37 from a start number of 81. Afterwards Cooper explained on her Facebook page "Had such an amazing experience at the World Junior Alpine Ski Championships this week! I didn't get the results which I was hoping for but I sure did gain a tonne of experience for the future.
"Thank you to everyone who made it so special and memorable, including SkiTeam4! You guys helped my dream become a reality, and I still can't believe that it happened."
Full results are available at www.are2017.com.