By Andrew Mitchell
Wearing bib number 2 in the men’s downhill on Sunday, Banff’s Jan Hudec claimed Canada’s only medal to date at the 2007 FIS Alpine World Championships in Are, Sweden.
As the second skier down the course, Hudec had what can only be called a fresh slate to make his marks, smoothly carving the same corners that other racers would bounce around later in the race. For Hudec, it made all the difference.
“When I came through the finish I knew it was a good run,” he said. “I knew it was a fast run and it was one of those good feelings when you get to the finish.
“To have start number two was just a total blessing today, I think. I’ve had start numbers in the 50s and 60s all year and it was quite difficult for me.”
Earning a silver medal behind Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, who had by far the cleanest run of the day on a course that had fog drifting in and out, Hudec became only the third male in Canadian history to medal at the world alpine championships. Whistler’s Steve Podborski earned a bronze in the 1980 Winter Games, which was considered a world championship, while “Jungle” Jim Hunter tied for third in combined in 1972.
Earlier in the week Hudec placed seventh in an incredibly tight super-G, just 0.04 seconds off the podium.
“I was pretty ticked off that I was off the podium by four-hundredths… that just made me more motivated,” he said.
But while Hudec had Canada’s top run Sunday, it’s not for a lack of trying by other athletes. Erik Guay skied aggressively from the top, nearly lost control on one corner and ended up skiing on one leg, but got back under control enough to place fourth behind Patrik Jaerbyn of Sweden. Just 0.02 seconds separated him from third place.
Manuel Osborne-Paris, an alumnus of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, also cracked the top-10 with a ninth place finish, while John Kucera ended his day in 31 st .
According to reports, as the only member of the men’s speed team not to win a medal this season, the 25-year-old Hudec was consigned to a mattress on the floor of the athletes’ accommodation. Hudec, now sporting a Mohawk hairdo after making a bet with his physical trainer, was upgraded after his performance. He will also receive an upgrade to his transportation situation when he returns to Canada, as Canadian team sponsors at Pontiac GMC will provide him with a free lease for a car or truck for one year as part of an incentive program for racers. Anyone who wins a medal in a World Cup or world championship gets the same.
There was never any doubt as to Hudec’s abilities. He has been consistently in the top-30 this season, bouncing back from a pair of knee injuries that left him on the sidelines for most of the 2003-04 season, and all of the 2005-06 season. Now healthy, Hudec has been working to improve his starting bib numbers from the 40s and 50s into the top-30.
In the women’s downhill, which took place on the same day because of weather delays earlier in the week, Whistler’s Britt Janyk was the fastest Canadian, finishing in 12 th place, while Shona Rubens was 18 th and Emily Brydon 24 th . Janyk’s time of 1:28.20 was just 0.83 seconds back of the bronze medal.
In that race all eyes were on Anja Paerson of Sweden as she claimed her third gold medal before her home crowd, after winning both the super G and combined earlier in the week.
Lindsay Kildow of the U.S. picked up her second silver medal behind Paerson, while Nicole Hosp of Austria was third.
In the super combined, Francois Bourque was the top Canadian on the men’s side, in 18 th place. He was sitting in fifth after the downhill stage, but had trouble in the slalom, where 15 skiers went off course.
“I am a bit disappointed but today’s slalom run was an excellent opportunity for me to get ready for the slalom coming up later in the championships,” he said. “The course was dark as we raced under lights and in the sunset. I was difficult to clearly see all the gates ahead and it forced me to ski more conservatively.”
Whistler’s Mike Janyk was 22 nd .
The gold and bronze were picked up by Swiss skiers Daniel Albrecht and Marc Berthod, while Austria’s Benjamin Raich picked up the silver.
In the women’s combined Emily Brydon led the way for the Canadian team in 10 th place. She followed a sub-par downhill run with the seventh-fastest slalom of the day to jump up 18 spots in the rankings.
Britt Janyk was seventh in the downhill, but had a disappointing slalom to finish 18 th overall.
“I am happy with my downhill race. I knew I had to put in a good slalom run to contend. I didn’t’ make any mistakes but I could probably have gone straighter,” she said.
Julia Mancuso of the U.S. placed second behind Paerson, while Marlies Schild of Austria was third.
The next event was the women’s giant slalom on Tuesday. Despite posting the second-fastest first run of the day, Genevieve made a few mistakes on her second lap to place 10 th overall.
“I felt totally out of whack, one shot behind the eight ball,” she said. “The gates were coming at me, I was late a few places and wasn’t able to let my skis run and ski like I did in the first run. I never felt the rhythm and on top of that I made mistakes.”
Nicole Hosp of Austria grabbed the gold medal, while Sweden’s Maria Pietilae was second and Italy’s Denise Karbon third.
Shona Rubens was the only other Canadian to crack the top-30, placing 25 th .
In its bid to become one of the top nations in alpine skiing by the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Alpine Canada has set a goal of 12 World Cup podiums and two world championship medals this season. At press time, Canada has seven World Cup medals, and one medal at the championships.
