Are, SWE (Feb. 17, 2019) – Canada’s Simon Fournier (Montreal, Que./Mont-Tremblant Ski Club) earned his second top-30 result in his first blush with World Championships’ competition, finishing 24th in the men’s slalom at the 2019 Audi FIS Alpine World Championships in Are, Sweden.

Fournier was the lone Canadian to put down two runs in Sunday’s event; Erik Read (Calgary/Banff Alpine Racers) straddled a gate early in the first run, while Trevor Philp was on pace for a top-25 finish in the opening leg before he went out in the bottom section of the course.

“It was definitely a battle this morning and I think it rewarded everyone that fought through that first course,” said Fournier who climbed from a 33rd start position to ultimately finish among the top-25 best slalom racers in the world. “It’s a great experience overall (to compete at Worlds). It’s a big learning experience in terms of a new feel, the different venue where you’re expected to perform a little bit more. It’s important to fight for everything.”

Austrians brought their extensive experience to the table on Sunday, and walked away with a podium sweep. Marcel Hirscher was crowned the 2019 Men’s Slalom World Champion, and was joined in the winner’s circle by teammates Michael Matt and Marco Schwarz who claimed silver and bronze respectively. Full race results can be found at FIS-SKI.com.

Sunday’s slalom was the final competition of the 2019 Audi FIS Alpine World Championships. In all, Canada’s athletes earned four individual top-10 performances (Roni Remme – fifth in the combined; Laurence St-Germain – sixth in the slalom; Ben Thomsen – seventh in the downhill; Erin Mielzynski – 10th in the slalom), and was tied for ninth in the team event. The team posted a total of 10 top-20 results over the course of the competition.