Yukon alpine skier Mackenzie Jenner found himself up against some tough international competition at the Mount Sima Aurora Cup FIS race on Nov. 18 and 19 in Whitehorse.
FIS is the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding.
Jenner said he was happy with his performance at his first international skiing competition. At the race, he competed with skiers from around the world.
“It was a great time,” he said. “I met a lot of different athletes there and so it was amazing to be among them to compete and to learn.”
He described skiing as inclusive and noted those at Mount Sima - including coaches, parents and athletes - were supportive during the competition.
“Everybody makes the sport so awesome,” he said.
On Nov. 18, Jenner finished 44th place in the male Giant Slalom with a combined time of 2:06.09. On the final day of the competition, he ranked 35th place in the male Slalom with a combined time of 1.56.11.
“The race was not great for me. I had my expectations low because this is my first (international) race ever,” he said. “I just wanted to finish, that’s my overall goal, and get some points and have a good time.”
Urs Schirmer, who coaches Alpine Yukon’s high performance race team, said Jenner only had four days of skiing prior to the race while others had two full weeks of training.
“I think he did well,” Schirmer said. “He finished both races. He could have been faster, of course, but I think for the first race and for such a short time, it was okay. He made some mistakes in the race, but he finished off races, so that’s really important for him.”
Schirmer said there were quite a diverse number of athletes who crashed and didn’t finish the race.
“You know there were some high-calibre athletes up here who actually can perform in the world cup and, you know, in the biggest league in Europe. So, I think he was a little nervous to compete with those guys for the first time. I think he did really well and I hope he can get more on the snow for his next challenge.”
The final results saw Jan Ronner of Austria place first in the men’s Giant Slalom, followed by Canadians Caeden Carruthers and Philippe Savard. On the women’s side, Ainsley Proffit of the U.S. placed first, followed by Sofie Carmen Nielssen of Norway and Laeticia-Odile Audet of Canada.
In the men’s Slalom race, Ronner again found himself in the top spot followed by U.S. skier Moro Bamber and Carruthers. On the women’s side, Ella Bromee of Sweden placed first, followed by Nielssen and Canadian Ashleigh Alexander.
Schrimer told the News he sees potential in Jenner and would like to see him train more.
Jenner said he has been training five times a week in the gym for the ski cross Youth Olympic Trials in Nakiska, Alberta from Dec. 7 to 10. The Youth Olympics will take place from Jan. 19 to Feb. 1, 2024 in Gangwon Province, South Korea.
Jenner is one of the 15 athletes from across Canada who will be participating in the trials.
“My school program is flexible, so I take every afternoon off to go and ski.”
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com
