PyeongChang, KOR. (February 17, 2018) – Today the ladies took over the Jeongseon Alpine Centre for the ladies super-G with 21yr old Valérie Grenier (St-Isidore, ON) leading the Canadian Team, finishing in 23rd-place. The story of the race was 22yr old Ester Ledecka from the Czech Republic who stole the show and won Olympic Gold in PyeongChang.  

Despite a small delay due to wind this morning, it was picture perfect racing conditions for the Olympic super-G race. Rolling terrain on the Jeongseon track kept the athletes on their toes with blind gates and sweeping turns causing the most experienced in the field to make small mistakes, which ultimately cost podium positions.  With only a one-hour inspection afforded to the athletes, they had to learn the line to find ways to generate speed, while respecting the tactics required to win.

When Ester Ledecka (CZE) crossed the finish line +0.01 seconds ahead of the leader, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing on the video board. Not only does Ledecka compete in alpine skiing, she also will compete in snowboarding at the 2018 Games. Defending Olympic super-G champion Anna Veith (AUT) thought she had the Gold medal locked up until Ledecka came down and stunned the field, settling for Silver. Rounding out the podium was 28yr old Tina Weirather (LIE) who won Bronze, just +0.11 seconds from Ledecka’s time.

Canadian Valérie Grenier in her first Olympic super-G event skied with moments of brilliance throughout her run, skiing clean and generating speed from turn to turn. A few unfortunate mistakes cost Grenier significant time and she crossed the finish line in 23rd-place. “I was skiing well most of the way down and it felt fast too, so I think it could have been a good result,” said a disappointed Grenier post race. “The track was really fun, the snow was amazing and you can rip from wherever you are starting, so I’m really excited for the downhill.”

In her Olympic super-G debut, 23yr old Candace Crawford (Toronto, ON) attacked the track, leveraging her giant slalom technique to make clean turns from top to bottom.  Crawford crossed the line in 29th-place, +2.58 seconds off the pace. “It was a lot of fun and it was great we had a clear and sunny day, overall it was a really perfect day to have a race,” Crawford reported from the finish. “The track was amazing, the snow was great and I’m really excited to get onto the downhill track the next few days.”

The third Olympic rookie on the Team Canada to take on the super-G event was 22yr old Roni Remme (Toronto, ON), who finished the day in 37th-place. “It’s been about a month since I’ve been on the long skis, so this was I think important for me to get the run in before the downhill training,” Remme said post race. “I feel like I can start at a better spot now leading into the first downhill training run to try and push for the alpine combined.”

Top 5 results:

Gold – Ester Ledecka (CZE)

Silver – Anna Veith (AUT) 

Bronze – Tina Weirather (LIE)

4 – Lara Gut (SUI)

5 – Johanna Schnarf (ITA)

Canadian ladies’ super-G results:

23 - Valérie Grenier

29 - Candace Crawford

37 - Roni Remme

Full results here.

Next alpine event will be the men’s giant slalom – catch it live on CBC broadcast at 8:15pm EST.

ABOUT ALPINE CANADA

Alpine Canada is the national governing body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing in Canada. With the support of valued corporate partners along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium and the Canadian Olympic Committee, Alpine Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic, world championship and World Cup medallists to stimulate visibility, inspiration and growth in the ski community.