2022 has been a milestone year for Jack Crawford of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC).
The 25-year-old now has an International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup bronze medal in the downhill event to go with the Olympic bronze he earned in alpine combined last winter. Crawford, who grew up skiing at Georgian Peaks Club in Thornbury, Ont., held off many of the world's best on Dec. 3 as he sped to the finish in a time of 1:42.88 in Beaver Creek, Colo.
Norwegian powerhouse Aleksander Aamodt Kilde struck downhill gold in 1:42.09 while Swiss contender Marco Odermatt claimed silver in 1:42.15.
“Super exciting to have grabbed a podium so early in the season,” said Crawford after the race. “Today was a hard day with the snow and the wind, and I’m happy to be able to hold on to third. I definitely have some work to do to catch the two top guys, but this is a huge milestone for me and I’m hoping to take a lot of confidence forward into this season.”
Crawford had never previously won a downhill medal on the World Cup circuit, but managed to build on a pair of top-10 finishes from last season (including sixth place in Kitzbühel, Austria). He broke through in his 32nd career World Cup downhill start for his fifth top-10 result in six races.
"Great result for the team," said men’s alpine speed coach John Kucera. "Results like this bring confidence to Jack and it also brings confidence to other athletes and the staff. We have the speed to be competitive with the rest of the world. On any given day, any of the athletes on the team can stand on the podium."
Jeffrey Read of Canmore, Alta. was the next-best Canadian in Beaver Creek, finishing 44th. Two more WMSC alumni, Brodie Seger and Broderick Thompson, placed 46th and 52nd respectively.
Crawford also led Team Canada in Dec. 4's super-G race with an 11th-place result (1:11.86). Kilde swept the weekend, prevailing on Sunday for his 16th career World Cup victory (1:10.73) while Odermatt was again second (1:10.93).
Visit the Alpine Canada website for top Canadian results and stories throughout the season.
