Latest news with #AbigailStrate
Calgary Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
'I was balling my eyes out' on podium: Calgary's Abigail Strate soars to first international ski-jumping victory
Article content COURCHEVEL, France — Calgary ski jumper Abigail Strate landed on the top step of the international podium for the first time in her career on Sunday. Article content One day after flying to her first-ever podium on the Summer Grand Prix circuit, the 24-year-old claimed her first victory on the large HS135 hill with 108.8 points. Article content 'It is a little upgrade from yesterday,' Strate, who captured bronze on Saturday, said with a laugh. 'I'm still kind of overwhelmed with everything going on. I've never heard the Canadian anthem played on the podium for myself, so I was balling my eyes out. It was really good today. I'm so happy.' Article content Article content It was Canadian ski jumping's first win in Courchevel since Alexandra Pretorius triumphed in 2012 at the Summer Grand Prix. A foursome of young Canadian leapers including Strate, and fellow Calgarians Alex Loutitt, Nicole Maurer and Natalie Eilers have been rewriting the history books. Article content Article content Strate topped a deep field on Sunday to once again have the opportunity to hear O Canada played at the medal ceremony in the French resort. The talented artist in the air, and also while doing her graphic design profession, edged Germany's Selina Freitag for the gold medal by .5 points. Japan's Nozomi Maruyama finished third with 105.5 points. Article content 'Standing on the podium, I was just looking for my team in the crowd. Seeing them happy is extra fulfilling because I know how hard the coaches work for all of us and how hard each of us work too,' added Strate. 'I've been close (to winning) a bunch of times, but I always seem to have found a way to mess it up. It was a great feeling today, knowing you are doing your job for the day, and I couldn't do anything better. It is amazing.' Article content Article content The world's best women's leapers competed in a new spectator-friendly competition format on Sunday. In the first round, athletes jumped in groups of five with the top two in each group advancing to the second round. Each of the top-20 competitors who headed back to the top of the hill started with zero points for the second round. Article content All three Canadian women who suited up on the weekend made it to the final. Loutitt, who claimed Olympic bronze in the mixed-team event in 2022 alongside Strate, finished in eighth spot with 83 points. Maurer placed 17th at 52.2. Article content 'I feel like I have to like (this new format),' laughed Strate. 'There was some stress from everyone, but I like they are trying some different things to make the competitions more exciting for fans to watch.' Article content Article content Strate, who was also leading after the first round in Saturday's competition before she settled for the bronze medal, is no stranger to flying to the international podium in bunches.
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Canadian ski jumper Abigail Strate wins summer Grand Prix competition
COURCHEVEL - Canadian ski jumper Abigail Strate won gold at a Summer Grand Prix event Sunday for the first international victory of her career. The Calgarian finished first on the large HS135 hill with 108.8 points. The result came a day after she took bronze.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canadian ski jumper Abigail Strate wins summer Grand Prix competition
COURCHEVEL – Canadian ski jumper Abigail Strate won gold at a Summer Grand Prix event Sunday for the first international victory of her career. The Calgarian finished first on the large HS135 hill with 108.8 points. The result came a day after she took bronze. 'It is a little upgrade from yesterday,' said the 24-year-old Strate. 'I'm still kind of overwhelmed with everything going on. I've never heard the Canadian anthem played on the podium for myself, so I was balling my eyes out. 'It was really good today. I'm so happy.' Germany's Selina Freitag took the silver medal with 108.3 points and Japan's Nozomi Maruyama picked up bronze with 105.5. It was the first victory for a Canadian ski jumper at Courchevel since Alexandra Pretorius won in 2012. Alex Loutitt was eighth and Nicole Maurer, also from Calgary, was 17th. Ski jumping is performed in the summer on an in-run where the tracks are made from porcelain and the grass on the slope is covered with water-soaked plastic. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2025.
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Calgary ski jumper Abigail Strate captures first medal on Grand Prix circuit
Article content COURCHEVEL, Fra. — Canadian ski jumper Abigail Strate flew onto the podium in her first event of the Olympic season on Saturday. Article content The 24-year-old Calgarian earned the first summer Grand Prix medal of her career, taking the bronze in the women's large hill competition in Courchevel, France, with a total of 222.9 points. Article content 'Obviously this feels really good, especially being the Olympic year,' said Strate. 'The training has been going really well all summer, so I was trying to get a benchmark of where I was at against everyone. Article content Article content 'There is something in the air when everyone gets back in the same place again. I knew my jumping was good. I had hopes, but I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself.' Article content Article content Slovenia's Nika Prevc won the event with a total score of 241.7 points. Germany's Selina Freitag was second at 224.7. Article content Strate was leading after the first round of 30 leapers had launched off the HS135 hill. The multi-talented graphic designer covered 129.5 metres in her first attempt for 106.9 points. She chalked up the fifth-furthest jump of the final round at 119.5 metres and racked up 116 points to secure her spot on the podium. Article content Jumps are scored on both distance and style. Article content 'The first one I was just focused on what the coaches gave me to work on, and I executed that well so that made me feel good,' added Strate. 'I was nervous, for sure. I could feel it in my stomach, so it was good to know that I can preform under those conditions. Article content Article content 'The second jump I wasn't as nervous. I knew I was in with pretty tough competition, as a lot of those girls have been there more than me. It's an odd situation being the last one to jump when you look behind you and can't see any other competitors, but I was able to have a good enough jump to hold onto a spot on the podium.' Article content The colourful Canuck has been no stranger to the international ski jumping podium since making history with her teammates at Beijing 2022 when they claimed the nation's first-ever Olympic bronze medal. Article content Strate rattled off a string of three consecutive podium performances in 2023-24 — closing out 2023 with a bronze and silver medal before ringing in the 2024 new year with another bronze. The only other podium finish in Strate's eight-year career came when she won the bronze in Hinterzarten, Germany. Three of Strate's four medals in winter leaping have also come on large hills.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Canada's Abigail Strate wins ski jump bronze medal at World Cup in Austria
HINZENBACH — Canada's Abigail Strate won bronze on Sunday for her first World Cup ski jumping medal of the season. Strate, from Calgary, scored 226.6 points over two jumps on the normal-size hill. She covered a distance of 86.5 metres on her first jump and 87.5 metres on her second. "I decided I was going to go for it," she said. "It either works or it doesn't. In a top sport like this the margin is so small, you can't be half in." Slovenia's Nika Prevc won gold with 244.0 points and Germany's Selina Freitag took silver (241.5). It was Strate's sixth career World Cup medal. Calgary's Nicole Maurer was 16th. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2025. The Canadian Press
