Today was the final event at Nakiska for the alpine teams at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
In the men’s slalom race, Team BC had four top-11 finishes. Heming Sola (Summerland) put it all out there on the course and won the gold medal for Team BC.
Sola was sitting in fifth place after the first run, but managed to push it on the second run and bring himself back up to first place.
“My first run was good, I just wanted to finish my first run. After that I was happy to just go for it on my second run and I really flew. Happy to get the gold,” said Sola.
Sola also reflected on his experience at these games post-race.
“Experience here has been awesome. All the volunteers – I would like to thank them. The weather has been perfect. It has been an awesome event.”
Chase Burns (Abbotsford) also had two great runs today on the slalom course, placing in 6th, just 50 milliseconds after third place. His second run also saw improvement over the first.
Matthias Shorter (Whistler) came in the top-10 and really went for it on the second run. Adam Usher (North Vancouver followed closely behind in 11th place. Benjamin Jacoby (Kamloops), Taylor Nellis (Burnaby), and David Wood (Whistler) all came out of the gates and did not finish their first run.
In the women’s race, Team BC had 5 athletes place in the top-12. Jaden Dawson (North Vancouver) placed 6th followed closely by Noa Rogers (North Vancouver) in 7th, and Brynn Applegath (Kamloops) in 8th. Sara Stiel (Mt. Currie) fought to 11th place and right behind was Noa Hooton (Heffley Creek) in 12th.
All of the female skiiers placed higher on the second run than the first, showing determination to make it to the top. Fiona McInnes (North Vancouver) missed one of the gates and had to hike back up and around it, but still managed to complete her first run. On her second run, she came out of one of the turns ending in a DNF.
Charlotte Gibson (Prince George) gave it her all despite having frostbite on her toes, and also ended in a DNF.
In the Men’s Para Slalom category, Logan Leach (Lumby) skied to second place with guide Caele Kassa (Vernon). Their first run was slightly faster than their second run, however they ended in second place just 60 milliseconds behind first place. Logan and Caele’s communication is amazing to watch, especially because they do not train together on a regular basis.
Justin Johnson (Abbotsford) suffered from a neck injury that occurred in training the other day and decided not to compete in today’s slalom race to avoid any further injury.
Women’s Slalom
Place
|
Name
|
Run 1
|
Run 2
|
Combined Time
|
6
|
Jaden Dawson (North Vancouver)
|
49.58
|
49.82
|
1:39.40
|
7
|
Noa Rogers (North Vancouver)
|
49.33
|
50.19
|
1:39.52
|
8
|
Brynn Applegath (Kamloops)
|
49.36
|
50.60
|
1:39.96
|
11
|
Sara Stiel (Mt. Currie)
|
52.33
|
51.89
|
1:44.22
|
12
|
Noa Hooton (Heffley Creek)
|
53.26
|
52.84
|
1:46.10
|
DNF
|
Fiona McInnes (North Vancouver)
|
1:04.64
|
DNF
|
DNF
|
DNF
|
Charlotte Gibson (Prince George)
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
DNF
|
Men’s Slalom
Para
Place
|
Name
|
Run 1
|
Run 2
|
Combined Time
|
2
|
Logan Leach (Lumby)
|
1:01.28
|
1:08.47
|
2:09.75
|
DNS
|
Justin Johnson (Abbotsford)
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
Able-Body
Place
|
Name
|
Run 1
|
Run 2
|
Combined Time
|
1
|
Heming Sola (Summerland)
|
48.31
|
51.27
|
1:39.58
|
6
|
Chase Burns (Abbotsford)
|
48.79
|
51.79
|
1:40.58
|
10
|
Matthias Shorter (Whistler)
|
50.01
|
52.32
|
1:42.33
|
11
|
Adam Usher (North Vancouver)
|
50.43
|
52.56
|
1:42.99
|
DNF
|
Benjamin Jacoby (Kamloops)
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
DNF
|
DNF
|
Taylor Nellis (Burnaby)
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
DNF
|
DNF
|
David Wood (Whistler)
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
DNF
|
Up Next: Thursday, Feb. 28 2019 - travel day to Red Deer! Athletes will compete in Ski Cross on March 2 at Canyon Ski Hill.