WHISTLER, BC (April 4th, 2008 - ALPINE CANADA ALPIN) - Ford Swette (North Vancouver, BC) made quick work of his home hill during today’s Men’s K2 super G at the Sierra Wireless Whistler Cup, finishing in first place in a time of one minute 07.92 seconds.
Swette, who skis out of the host Whistler Mountain Ski Club, won the race for 13 and 14-year-old’s by a mere 0.03s.
"This is just fantastic. I was really hoping to win today but I would have been happy even with top 5 because there are a lot of strong guys here,” said Swette, who finished second in the Men’s super G at last week’s President’s Choice Canadian K2 Championships.
“Today I was just thinking about skiing my best and I felt confident because in the past I have done well at the Whistler Cup. I seem to be able to perform well on race day, not because of pressure, but I really enjoy the intensity,” Swette said.
“We had a ton of great pre-race training this week with Mark Sharp and Benoit Lalande and I also really want to thank my coaches Pierre-Luc Dumoulin, Joanna Magee and Sean Frith,” added Swette.
QUEBEC SKIER WINS MEN’S K1 KOMBI
Ëdouard Dumas-Longpré (Sherbrooke, QC) made it two victories for Canadian racers in four events today, finishing in top spot during the Men’s K1 kombi event, which combines elements of super G and slalom in one race.
Dumas-Longpré was not entirely impressed with his performance despite winning the race for 11 and 12-year-old’s in convincing fashion.
“To be honest I made some mistakes today and wasn’t all that happy with my run,” said Dumas-Longpré, who actually turned 13 last month. “But there are many countries here and many good skiers, so I am pleased to have won the race. My goal today was to finish as the top Canadian.”
Karl Kuus (Toronto, ON) made it two Canadians on the podium by grabbing third spot, just over half a second off the pace.
REMME THIRD IN LADIES K1 KOMBI
In the Ladies K1 kombi event, it was an all-North American podium with Roni Remme (Palgrave, ON) taking third place in a time of 53.27s.
“It was a lot of fun. The kombi forces you to think a lot more so that can make it a little more challenging than some of the other events. My goal today was just to have fun with it. I was hoping for a top 10 so to be on the podium is really great,” said Remme, a first year K1 from Alpine Ski Club in Collingwood, ON.
Americans Mikaela Shiffrin and Hana Saydek, who are both from Vermont, finished the race in first and second place respectively.
PAQUIN-RICARD TOP CANADIAN IN LADIES K2 SG
Canadian K2 super G champion Claudia Paquin-Ricard was the top Canadian in today’s Ladies K2 SG, finishing seventh.
"I'm happy with how I skied today. This course was very long and steep but I did make my goal of top 15,” Paquin-Ricard said.
“Slalom is my favourite discipline so I am hoping to do a little better in (tomorrow’s) slalom. I'm usually fast in slalom so I hope to be in the top 5," she added.
Valentina Volopichova of the Czech Republic won in a time of 1:09.66 followed by American Greta Byrne, who was nearly a full second back, with Austrian Ricarda Haaser in third.
"Even though I won today, I actually don't really like super G. I really love GS and slalom,” Volopichova said.
“I have a big dream and I know it will take a lot of hard work, but because I'm from the Czech Republic, I have a chance to qualify to race in the 2010 Olympics. I just have to be in the top 4 in the country in any discipline and that's a real possibility for me."
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
WHISTLER, BC – APRIL 4TH, 2008 – MEN’S – SUPER G
|
1 |
16 |
SWETTE Ford |
CAN |
1:07.92 |
|
2 |
9 |
KIRCHER Andrew |
USA |
1:07.95 |
|
3 |
3 |
JUFFINGER Christian |
AUT |
1:08.43 |
WHISTLER, BC – APRIL 4TH, 2008 – LADIES – KOMBI
|
1 |
5 |
SHIFFRIN Mikaela |
USA |
51.54 |
|
2 |
30 |
SAYDEK Hana |
USA |
52.25 |
|
3 |
20 |
REMME Roni |
CAN |
53.27 |
WHISTLER, BC – APRIL 4TH, 2008 – MEN’S – KOMBI
|
1 |
7 |
DUMAS-LONGPRE Edouard |
CAN |
53.21 |
|
2 |
24 |
NORTON Hughston |
USA |
53.71 |
|
3 |
13 |
KUUS Karl |
CAN |
53.87 |
WHISTLER, BC – APRIL 4TH, 2008 – LADIES – SUPER G
|
1 |
3 |
VOLOPICHOVA Valentina |
CZE |
1:09.66 |
|
2 |
12 |
BYRNE Greta |
USA |
1:10.62 |
|
3 |
9 |
HAASER Ricarda |
AUT |
1:10.74 |
Top Canadian
|
7 |
15 |
PAQUIN-RICARD Claudia |
CAN |
1:11.15 |
LIVE TIMING & COMPLETE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: http://canski.live-timing.org/
ABOUT THE 2008 SIERRA WIRELESS WHISTLER CUP
Hosted by the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (www.wmsc.info), the Sierra Wireless Whistler Cup is the only international ski racing event for 11 to 14 year olds in North America. World Cup champions to have participated in the Sierra Wireless Whistler Cup include Canadians Erik Guay, Britt Janyk and Emily Brydon as well as Austria’s Benjamin Raich, Slovenian Tina Maze and Anja Paerson of Sweden.
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