Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Switzerland captures Whistler Cup in return

Ontario earns U14 Festival Cup
web-whistlercup-april16
Switzerland accepts the U16 Whistler Cup in Skier's Plaza on Sunday. Photo by Dan Falloon

Five years away didn't punch any holes in Switzerland's love of Whistler.

Led by women's racer Selina Egloff, who won all three individual races in which she competed, the Swiss knocked off two-time defending champion Norway for the crown. Team Canada placed third.

Swiss coach Serge Allemand was thrilled with how his squad showed in a major event across the pond.

"It was a great time in Whistler for the team. It was a great experience for the young athletes to come here, such a long trip and they raced very well," he said. "We tried to have a good team with a good choice of the best skiers we had in Switzerland to compare with the Americans and the Canadians."

Meanwhile, in the U14 event, Team Ontario took home the win over Team BC and Team Australia.

In terms of individual awards for Canadians, the Nancy Greene awards went to Ontario 1's Tessa Foote (U14) and Team Canada's Cassidy Gray (U16) while the Dave Murray awards were given to Team BC 1's Heming Sola (U14) and Team Canada's Raphael Lessard (U16).

Canada also picked up a victory in Sunday's action, knocking off Norway in the final of the U16 team event while in the small final, Switzerland and Australia tied for third.

In the U14 men's slalom, BC 1's Heming Sola ended up taking the win, edging Serbia's Aleksa Tomovic and Japan's Yudai Kazazawa. Canadians also took slots five through nine, with Toronto Ski Club's Owen Clark, Ontario 1's Kyle Blanford and Christopher Burnes, BC 1's Matthias Shorter (of WMSC) and Ontario 1's Aleksas Valadka holding down those positions in order.

In the U14 women's giant slalom, a pair of Canadians hit the podium. Hungary's Noa Szollos scored the win, but Ontario 1's Tessa Foote and BC 1's Ana Large also took medals. Whistler Mountain Ski Club's (WMSC) Kaila Lafreniere capped her strong weekend with a sixth-place finish, while Ontario 1's Cadence Kiss took ninth.