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WENGEN, SUI (Jan. 15, 2012) – An eight-year-old boy from Calgary, Alta., was the talk of the ski racing world on Sunday when he was unveiled as slalom ace Brad Spence’s sponsor in front of thousands of fans in Wengen, Switzerland.
Gage Ferguson had his Christmas wish to become his hero’s personal sponsor granted when the Calgary-based ski racer arranged to wear a special helmet sticker bearing the boy’s name at one of the world’s most famous races. KLM, one Alpine Canada’s sponsors, stepped up to fly the boy and his family to Switzerland for the 82nd International Lauberhorn event and on Sunday, Gage was given special permission by the International Ski Federation (FIS) to watch the World Cup slalom race from the finish area.
The boy, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, greeted Spence with a hug at the bottom of the hill, a special moment that was captured on the jumbotron, to the delight of fans, and broadcast by television networks in Europe and North America.
“In a world where sponsorship is so closely tied to corporations, giving Gage the opportunity to be my sponsor without the monetary value involved was really special for me and special for him, too,” said Spence, 27. “It was an opportunity to show him that’s anything possible if you have a dream. That’s the message I hope he takes with him.”
Spence, who finished 21st in Sunday’s slalom – just behind teammate Mike Janyk, of Whistler, B.C., who was 19th – was the first man down the hill during the second run and for a short while he was leading the race.
“It really has been a really special weekend with the Fergusons and Gage being my sponsor for the race,” Spence said. “Watching the downhill with them (on Saturday) was pretty special and obviously having a pretty decent result today. But the highlight was standing in the leader’s box with Gage after the second run. That was something I’d only dreamt about until now.”
Gage was joined on the trip by his mom Jenn, dad Chris and 15-year-old sister Alyssa. FIS granted the boy and his mom special dispensation to wait for Spence in the finish area - where traditionally only accredited team members, staff or officials are allowed to stand.
“When I poked my head around the corner (at the finish line) he was just kind of buzzing with excitement,” Spence said. “I don’t think I’ll forget that feeling for a long time.”
Gage won the hearts of fans and media alike Sunday and took part in interviews with television networks from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the U.S. and Norway, as well as Canada.
“It was great – the best,” Gage said. “It’s like having a birthday in Switzerland. It’s awesome. Coolio-cool and awesomest-awesome.”
Jenn Ferguson said the experience was “amazing, surreal and incredible.”
“He was so excited, jumping up and down and cheering on his hero as he came down,” said Jenn of her son, a student at Calgary Academy. “As Brad skied to the entry way, Gage ran out and gave him this big squishy hug. How often do you get a dream to come true and your son to be the hero? With everything we’ve experienced through KLM and Alpine Canada, it’s just been unbelievable.”
Gage, who first met Spence after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, started saving money in his piggy bank when he heard Spence was looking for a “headgear sponsor.” He sent Spence a letter and made a video, asking if the World Cup star could fulfill his dream of becoming his sponsor. At a press conference in Calgary on Dec. 23, Spence announced he would grant the boy’s Christmas wish. The money Gage saved in his piggy bank – a total of $149.39 – has been donated to the Branch Out Foundation, which raises funds for research into therapy for neurological disorders with the aim of finding a cure for the various complications of the nervous system.
“It was pretty amazing,” said Janyk, who joined Spence and Gage in the leader’s box after finishing his second run. “(Gage) was there, smiling ear to ear. These are the kind of things where sport can connect people and really bring people together. It was amazing to be part of it.”
Click here for more background information on the Gage Ferguson story.
Janyk not satisfied with top 20 finish
On a day when an eight-year-old boy captured the hearts of ski racing fans, Canada’s slalom skiers didn’t get the results they were hoping for on a technical and challenging course in Wengen.
Janyk, who clocked a two-run combined time of one minute, 48 seconds, changed his setup for the second run after finishing 26th in the first run and was able to move up to 19th.
“Today was a pretty disappointing day,” Janyk said. “I’ve got to let today (sink) in, learn from it and see what I can take from it. I’m more frustrated than anyone (about) doing this thing of doing one bad run, one good run, so I’ve got to change that now.”
Spence recovered from a disappointing first run, in which he finished 30th, to post a combined time of 1:48.41. A series of mishaps resulted in four other Canadians not finishing their first run – Calgary’s Trevor White, Paul Stutz, of Banff, Alta., Pat Biggs, of Ottawa, Ont., and Sasha Zaitsoff, of Queen’s Bay, B.C., who was making his second World Cup start.
“I just came in on that last pitch and I was a little bit late, tried to (make) a turn and flew out and landed on my butt,” Zaitsoff said. “But skiing here was a great experience. My parents came to watch and it was awesome for them to see this.”
White was having a good first run – with fast splits – before he went out, as was Biggs. Stutz had a spectacular crash but managed to emerge unscathed.
“I was really happy with my run up to that point but you’ve got to put it on the line and I certainly did that – I found another way down, on my face,” Stutz said. “But that’s the game. The body feels good and I’m ready to go for next week.”
Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic won Sunday’s slalom in a time of 1:45.67. Sweden’s Andre Myhrer was second (1:46.52) and Germany’s Fritz Dopfer was third (1:46.55).
Next up for Canada’s men’s team is one of the highlights of the year on the World Cup circuit, the Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbuehel, Austria. The historic ‘Streif’ course is considered the most difficult in the world but Canada has enjoyed some success on it, with Ken Read, Steve Podborski (twice) and Todd Brooker all claiming World Cup wins there. The super-G goes Friday, Jan. 20, followed by the downhill on Jan. 21 and the slalom and combined on Jan. 22.
JAN. 15, 2012 – AUDI FIS WORLD CUP – WENGEN, SUI – MEN’S SLALOM
COMPLETE RESULTS
WATCH THE ACTION ON TV: Sunday’s men’s slalom in Wengen is due to be broadcast on Sportsnet at 5 p.m. ET in Ontario (times differ according to region). For complete listings, go to alpinecanada.org/tv.
Canadians go out in Cortina
Canada’s Larisa Yurkiw made her return to the World Cup circuit following a long-term injury in the Cortina d’Ampezzo super-G in Italy on Sunday.
The Owen Sound, Ont., native did not finish after losing her racing line on a fast super-G course. Her teammate, Marie-Pier Préfontaine, of Saint-Sauveur, Que., also didn’t finish after missing a gate, while Sarah Freeman, of Pincher Creek, Alta., crashed but walked away with bumps and bruises.
“Larisa made a big mistake,” explained Hugues Ansermoz, head coach of the women’s alpine team. “She got off the line on a big turn. She ended up in fast snow and couldn’t make the next gate.
“It was a very wide open super-G with pretty high speed and when you look at Marie-Pier and Larisa, they don’t have a lot of speed experience lately so it was always going to be difficult.”
Yurkiw, who suffered a serious leg injury in 2009 and had a long road back to competitive racing, is set to continue her comeback later this month at Europa Cup and World Cup races in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
“She will have seven days on the same track,” added Ansermoz. “That’s exactly what she needs.”
The USA’s Lindsey Vonn won in a time of 1:26.16, ahead of Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch (1:26.77) and Slovenia’s Tina Maze (1:27.02).
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