Britt Janyk (Whistler, BC) had the hometown crowd on the edge of their seat, finishing today’s thrilling Ladies TELUS Whistler Downhill just 0.16s from the podium.
Janyk ended up in fourth, equaling the performance of teammate Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC) a day earlier in the TELUS Whistler Super-G. American Lindsay Vonn, who was beaten today by Switzerland’s Nadia Styger by a mere 0.01s, clinched the World Cup downhill title with the second place finish.
Janyk, who was living out the childhood dream of racing in a World Cup in her hometown, screamed down Franz’s Downhill to finish in a time of one minute 45.65.
“I really followed my plan of attack the whole way down and was really focused in on the course,” said the 27-year-old World Cup champion. “It’s a technical hill and you need to remember that because every section has something different.”
Styger grabbed the first downhill victory of her career, crossing the finish line in 1:45.30. Vonn’s teammate Julia Mancuso was third, finishing 0.19s behind the winner.
There were three Canadians in the top 17 on the day, including Kelly VanderBeek (Kitchener, ON) who placed ninth.
“I don’t feel more pressure racing at home, I feel a lot more support,” said Vanderbeek about her experience thus far in Whistler.
“Before I even put my poles out, all the volunteers are cheering the whole way and I was so excited. We spend so much time on our own and in isolation on the road either racing or training that it’s nice to have people cheering from top to bottom,” she added.
Emily Brydon (Fernie, BC) finished 17th with Emilie Desforges (Montréal, QC) in 39th and Danielle Poleschuk (Calgary, AB) 46th.
The Men’s TELUS Whistler Giant Slalom takes place tomorrow with the first run scheduled for 10 a.m. PT followed by the second run at 1 p.m. PT. The races can be seen on TSN with coverage beginning at 10 a.m. PT. / 1 p.m. ET.
