Calgary, Alta. (December 9, 2018) – Canada’s Erin Mielzynski, 28, skied to a 7th place finish in parallel slalom Sunday at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup in St-Moritz. Because of the format of the race, Mielzynski had to face the course five different times to make it all the way to the quarter-finals. Mielzynski earned the distinction of top Canadian of the day with this outstanding result. 

“Duals are very exciting for the racers and for the spectators! This is a new format for us and it was hard to know what to expect. It was hard to even get back to the start before our next heat started, and we weren’t sure how long the breaks were between heats. The course wasn’t tiring because it was so fun and exciting. I am happy that my starts are getting better, that I was able to improve on my qualifying round and that I was able to gain experience for future team events, city events and parallel slalom races.” Said Mielzynski.

Missing a gate in the 1/8 finals knocked Roni Remme, 22, out of the race, resulting in a 14th place finish overall.

By qualifying in 32nd position, Laurence St-Germain, 24, had to face the top qualifier Mikaela Shiffrin who ultimately won the race. St-Germain’s performance in the 1/16 finals earned her a 22nd position finish.

Only the top 32 skiers qualify to ski the parallel slalom race, and Amelia Smart, 20, was not among them. 

Parallel slalom was debuted on the World Cup circuit a year ago in Courchevel. It starts by having a full field of athletes ski in a qualification run, from which the top 32 skiers move on to compete. In this exciting type of race, spectators get the chance to see skiers compete head to head down the mountain and side by side.

In the first leg of the race, each skier gets two runs and the winners of both runs move forward in the competition brackets towards the finals. Canada is showing great promise in this event and was one of the few countries to have three representatives move along in the competition.

The men’s slalom race was cancelled today in Val d’Isère due to the weather conditions.

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