SOCHI, Russia (Feb. 29, 2016) – The 2015 National super G Champion Drew Duffy (Warren, VT, U.S. Ski Team/Green Mountain Valley School) grabbed his second straight top-11 finish today to lead the way for the Americans, with teammate Erik Arvidsson (Woodside, CA, U.S. Ski Team/Squaw Valley Ski Team/Bear Valley) finishing 15th in the super G at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships.
After stuffing four in the top 10 to kick off Junior Worlds on Saturday – including a downhill victory by Arvidsson – the men were ready to take on the super G on Sunday, when rain and low visibility plagued the Rosa Khutor alpine center and postponed the event until Monday.
“The boys were great today and the cancelation Sunday actually gave them the opportunity to rest and they were feeling good,” said U.S. Ski Team Development Assistant Coach Justin Johnson. “Super proud of how the guys came out today. Everyone was really loose; the chips just didn’t fall into place.” In some of his best skiing in the season, Duffy was leading in the first split and was second into the final split before a bobble four gates from the finish cost him a podium.
Frances Matthieu Bailet won, with Canada’s James Crawford in second and Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt in third. Florian Szwebel (Avon, CO, National Training Group/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) was 24th, Patrick Kenney (Hingham, MA, U.S. Ski Team/Burke Mountain Academy) 32nd, while teammate Sam Morse (Sugarloaf, ME, U.S. Ski Team/Carrabassett Valley Academy/Sugarloaf Ski Club) did not finish.
On the women’s side, Alice Merryweather (Hingham, MA, U.S. Ski Team/Stratton Mountain School) led the charge in 18th with Patricia Mangan (Buffalo, NY, U.S. Ski Team/Holimont Race Team) 19th, Nellie Rose Talbot (Vail, CO, National Training Group/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) 26th, Galena Wardle (Aspen, CO, U.S. Ski Team/Aspen Valley Ski Club) 27th, Nina O’Brien (San Francisco, CA, U.S. Ski Team/Burke Mountain Academy/Squaw Valley Ski Team) 30th. Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID, U.S. Ski D Team/Rowmark Ski Academy), who finished fourth in the downhill on Saturday, did not finish. Austria’s Nina Ortlieb was first with Canada’s Valerie Grenier in second. Italy’s Verena Gasslitter rounded out the podium in third.
Up next for both men and women will be the alpine combined Tuesday, followed by a team event, slalom and giant slalom events throughout the week.
HIGHLIGHTS
- 2015 National super G Champion Drew Duffy was the fastest American man in 11th, while Erik Arvidsson was 15th.
- Alice Merryweather was the top American female in 18th place.
- The Canadians posted strong results, with a pair of second place finishes – one by James Crawford, the brother of current Canadian Team athlete Candace Crawford.
QUOTES
Chip Knight, Alpine Development Director
It was a great call to postpone yesterday, as we awoke to bluebird conditions this morning and a hard surface. Everyone was fired up with the change in conditions and ready to roll. Unfortunately, though, we had some costly mistakes and didn’t perform as well as we could have. Time to turn the page now and focus on the women’s and men’s alpine combined tomorrow. The slalom hill is steep and challenging and it's supposed to be a warm afternoon, so anything can happen and it should be an exciting race!
Justin Johnson, Development Team Assistant Coach
The boys were great today and the cancellation from Sunday actually gave them the opportunity to rest, and they were feeling good. We had a good look at the course during the rainy day and the adjustment to the harder snow today was the only thing we looked at today. The line we looked at for Erik (Arvidsson) may have been too conservative. Before going out, Sam (Morse) charged harder than I’ve seen him in super G this year and was super proud of that. Drew (Duffy) came out and performed among the best races of the season. Super proud of how the guys came out today and everyone was really loose; the chips just didn’t fall into place. The team morale is awesome and they’re ready for more tomorrow.
RESULTS
Men’s super G
Women’s super G
