ALPINE:

Sarah Freeman 9th in women’s downhill at world juniors

Feb. 1, 2011 — Alpine Canada

CRANS MONTANA, Switzerland — Sarah Freeman got Canada's women’s team off to a solid start at the FIS World Junior Championships by finishing ninth in Tuesday's downhill.

The 19-year-old, of Pincher Creek, Alta., is making her first appearance at the worlds and finished in a time of 1 minute, 33.67 seconds.

"I'm happy with my downhill today," she said. "The track was way faster today than the last two days. The fastest time is two seconds faster, so it's pretty notable.

"I definitely felt faster on my skis and I actually hoped I would have done better. I thought my skiing was better than yesterday but I knew I was making mistakes. It's a pretty good result for me today, but you always want a little bit more."

Two other Canadians took part in the downhill race, with Julia Roth of Waterloo, Ont., finishing 28th place with a time of 1:35.89.

The 18-year-old was expecting more after finishing 17th on the first day of training and 16th in Monday's second downhill training run.

"I made a huge mistake. I was so out on a turn at the top of the course that I almost gave up. That mistake cost me a lot of time," said an emotional Roth in the finish area.

"I was really counting on the downhill to be a success for me so it's really disappointing right now. But there is still four more events to look forward to, so I can't give up."

The last Canadian out of the start gate was Canadian Prospect Group athlete Madison McLeish of Canmore, Alta., who finished 40th with a time of 1:37.53.

"We have to feel good about today. I think the girls did a pretty good job and I'm proud of them," said women’s Prospect Group head coach Jean-Sébastien Labrie. "They might be a little disappointed, and that's normal, but I still believe we had a good race. We could definitely clean up some sections and be more aggressive in other areas, but we can build on that."

"The girls need to keep in mind that we were racing against five or 10 girls that compete on a regular basis on the World Cup circuit and some of those girls even qualified for the World Championships next week."

The men had their first downhill training run Tuesday. The fastest Canadian was Tyler Werry from Fernie, B.C., who finished 15th. Teammate Erik Read from Calgary, Alta., was 17th.

Philip Brown from Toronto, Ont., finished in 23rd place, Canmore's Andy Trow was 27th, Trevor Philp from Calgary, Alta., finished 46th and Dominique Garand from Mont-Tremblant, Que., finished 60th.

The women will take part in their second race Wednesday as they compete in the giant slalom race. The men will have their second and final downhill training run. S-Magazine