March 5, 2022 (Panorama, BC) -- Canadians continued charging down the slopes at the FIS Junior World Championships in Panorama, B.C., with the men’s and women’s super G events both taking place. After weather delays got the competition off to a slow start, skies were clear today for a fast and challenging track. Due to weather delays earlier in the week, today’s super G race counts as both a standalone event, as well as the speed portion for the combined. 

This high-paced course demanded athletes to charge from start to finish, putting it all on the line. While the Canadian women did not race the downhill, local favorite, Cassidy Gray (Invermere, B.C.) used her experience on the hill to attack, racing into 6th place. “I was trying to keep up with the course, and at the bottom I felt really confident with where I was going and what I was doing.”  

Teammate Sarah Bennett (Stoneham, QC) was right on her heels finishing 7th, setting herself up well for the alpine combined event with the slalom taking place tomorrow. “I’m excited, I love the slalom for the combined here on Old Timer, it’s one of my favourite slaloms to ski,” says Bennett. “I felt pretty good today, especially at the top. The snow felt really great and the speeds were super fast.” 

On the men’s side, Gerrit Van Soest (Coldstream, B.C.) matched Gray’s 6th place finish and echoed his female teammates’ assessment of the course and its potential for speed.

“I am not going slow out here,” he recalled saying to himself in the start hut. “I put the body on the line, took the arm guards off, and it was fun, and it was fast.”  Today’s finish matches Gerrit’s best-ever super G finish in a NorAm, showing he did put it on the line with this field of top international competitors.   

With top 10 results in the first two competitions with Canadian racers, the team knows the caliber of racing is high, and that they are contenders for the top. “I’m super proud of this team and how much everyone has overcome to be here and to race today,” says Gray. “This group has shown so much grit and determination and I’m just really lucky to be part of it.”

FIS World Junior Championships continue tomorrow with the men’s and women’s slalom portion of the alpine combined.

For more information or media inquiries please contact
Kylie Robertson I Manager of Communications 
krobertson@alpinecanada.org I 403-777-3204

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Alpine Canada is the governing body for alpine, para-alpine, and ski cross racing in Canada, as well as for Canadian ski coaches, providing education, certification, insurance, and compliance with the coaching code of conduct. With the support of valued corporate partners and donors, along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Coaching Association of Canada, Alpine Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic, World Championship, and World Cup athletes to stimulate visibility, inspiration, and growth in the ski community. In 2020/21, Alpine Canada celebrated 100 years of rich tradition in competitive skiing in Canada.